Two UG researchers join The Young Academy

Prof. Björn Hoops and Dr Esther Metting are joining The Young Academy (De Jonge Akademie, DJA) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Koningklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, KNAW). Every year, the DJA selects 10 talented academics who have demonstrated academic excellence and obtained their PhDs less than ten years ago. During their membership, they engage in projects in the areas of science policy, internationalization, interdisciplinarity, and the relationship between academia, society, science, and art. 

Prof. Björn Hoops

Björn Hoops is Professor of Private Law and Sustainability. In 2017, he completed his PhD with honours (cum laude) at the University of Groningen. Between 2019 and 2020, he worked as a research fellow at the University of York. He then joined the University of Groningen, where he initially worked as Associate 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 started working as a postdoctoral researcher at the UMCG and later worked as an eHealth project leader at a large healthcare organization. Today, Esther teaches at both the UMCG and the University of Groningen. Her expertise includes healthcare, behavioural sciences, and innovation and technology management. This ties in with her research, which focuses on designing and implementing e-health in a way that meets users' needs. Her goal is to make digital care more accessible and useful, thereby reducing digital inequalities in healthcare and increasing 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 scientific knowledge. The membership is for the duration of five years.