Two UG researchers join The Young Academy

Prof Björn Hoops and Dr Esther Metting join The Young Academy (De Jonge Akademie, DJA) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, KNAW). Every year, the DJA chooses ten talented scientists who have proven themselves scientifically and received their PhDs less than ten years ago. During their membership, they are engaged in projects on science policy, internationalisation, interdisciplinarity and the relationship between science, society and science and art. 

Prof Björn Hoops

Björn Hoops is professor of Private Law and Sustainability. In 2017, he completed his PhD cum laude at the University of Groningen. Between 2019 and 2020, he was active as a research fellow at the University of York. He then joined the University of Groningen, where he initially worked as Adjunct Professor of Private Law and Sustainability. On 1 January 2024, he was appointed professor. Björn's expertise lies in the fields of property law, real estate law and governance, private law and sustainability, energy transition in property law and economics. This is reflected in his research. Björn investigates which legal rules work against the energy transition and how these rules can be changed to actually make it easier to save or sustainably generate energy.

Dr Esther Metting

Esther Metting is a psychologist and epidemiologist. In 2017, she obtained her PhD from the UMCG. She then joined UMCG as a postdoctoral researcher and worked as an eHealth project leader at a large healthcare organisation. Today, Esther is active as a lecturer at both the UMCG and the University of Groningen. Her expertise is in healthcare, behavioural sciences and innovation and technology management. This ties in with her research to design and implement e-health in a way that meets users' needs. Her goal is to make digital care more accessible and useful, in order to reduce digital inequalities in healthcare and increase the impact of digital healthcare innovations.

Five years

The Young Academy comprises early-career researchers who are at the top of their field internationally. They share a broad interest in science, scientific policy, and the importance of communicating science. Membership is for five years.