News & updates
Latest developments from our institute
Stay informed about new research results, awards, events, and collaborations across our scientific community.
New topological metamaterial amplifies sound waves exponentially
Artist impression of the bosonic Kitaev chain: multiple mechanical string resonators are linked to form a chain using light. Mechanical vibrations (sound waves) are transported and…
Light prefers the extremes
From monitoring pregnancies to distance detection in cars, light sensors are a workhorse of modern technology. But do we really understand the data they give us? In a surprising find,…
AMOLF welcomes new group leader Menachem Stern
On August 1st Menachem (Nachi) Stern will start as tenure track group leader at AMOLF. He will lead the Learning Machines group, which will be shared between the autonomous matter…
Sound-powered sensors stand to save millions of batteries
Researchers from AMOLF and ETH Zurich have developed a sensor that utilizes energy from sound waves to control electronic devices. This could one day save millions of batteries. Sensors that…
Soft robot fingers carefully squeeze without sensors
With a brief squeeze, you know whether an avocado, peach or tomato is ripe. This is what a soft robot hand also does, for example, during automated harvesting. However, up…
Soft robots that learn to follow the light
Soft robot that has learned to follow light Soft robots made of simple, identical building blocks can learn to move toward a light source without a…
Jesse Slim wins the Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award 2023
The winner of the Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa physics thesis prize 2023 is Jesse Slim. He carried out his PhD research in the group of Ewold Verhagen (AMOLF) and defended his thesis cum…
How bacteria cope with randomness
Bacterial behavior is profoundly influenced by continuous random perturbances in their regulatory pathways. Researchers from institute AMOLF and Utrecht University found a new way by which bacteria cope with these…