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The votes have been counted and the results of the University elections are in!

In the coming weeks the nominees for the Ben Feringa Impact Award 2026 will introduce themselves and their impactful research or project. The winners will be announced on 9 June. This week: Thijs van der Laan with the research on AI-assisted communication for people with aphasia.

In the coming weeks the nominees for the Ben Feringa Impact Award 2026 will introduce themselves and their impactful research or project. The winners will be announced on 9 June. This week: Sasha Oleksandra Ivashchenko with the research on safer PET/CT imaging for children.

From fundamental research on new classes of materials to everyday applications: throughout her career, professor of photophysics and optoelectronics Maria Antonietta Loi has proved that this transformation doesn’t have to be difficult. Next to perovskites, she is currently focusing on quantum dots, which according to her can have very important applications in photodetector technology: ‘I expect that quantum dots devices may become soon a very important player in the detection of infrared light.’

If it were up to brands like Tesla or Mercedes-Benz, self-driving cars would be the new normal in the future. But is it really safe for a vehicle without a driver to circulate in regular traffic? To gain a better understanding of the challenges posed by autonomous vehicles, the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority) is organizing the Self Driving Challenge. A team of students from the UG is taking part.

Pieter van der Zaag is an expert in the field of bio-nanotechnology and molecular imaging. On May 29, he will deliver his inaugural lecture titled: How shall you eke order out of chaos?

How do you express yourself through language? And what exactly is the power of poetry? Babs Gons will explore these questions during her tenure as visiting writer at the University of Groningen during the 2026 – 2027 academic year.

The 6th edition of the Ben Feringa Impact Awards will take place on Tuesday 9 June. Once again, the UG is honoring the unique achievements of its researchers and students in the field of knowledge transfer with this award. Nobel Prize winner Ben Feringa will present the award to the winning researchers and students during a festive ceremony.

Curbs, parked bicycles, and stairs: we don’t always think about it, but a city is certainly not equally accessible to everyone. In this episode, we discuss accessibility, inclusivity, and the collaboration between the University of Groningen and the care institution 's Heeren Loo.

Every year, the University of Groningen presents the Ben Feringa Impact Award to UG researchers and students who have made outstanding achievements in the field of knowledge utilization, i.e. who have connected their research to the professional (non-academic) world and/or societal (including economic) practice.