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Ice rain is forecast for Tuesday 3 February and Wednesday 4 February. As a result, some public transport services in Groningen and Drenthe will not be running. To enable everyone to get home safely, all University of Groningen buildings will close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday 3 February. On Wednesday 4 February, the buildings will open at 10:30 a.m. so that scheduled academic ceremonies can take place.

The Olympic Games are where athletes show off the peak of human performance and push themselves to the limit. But being an Olympian is not just about being at your absolute physical peak. Olympians must also strive for mental mastery. Nico W. van Yperen is Professor of Sport & Performance Psychology. His work focuses on the role mental strength plays in high-performance sport. ‘Many people think that physical and mental aspects are unrelated, but obviously, that is not at all the case,’ he says. ‘Your psychological state of mind always affects your physical performance, and vice versa.’

Metamaterials are composites with a very precisely controlled structure. It is this structure that determines the properties of the metamaterial, not the substances it is made of. New research helps to predict the mechanics of metamaterials, so they can be designed with higher precision.

Are microplastics really as harmful to our health as reports in recent years would have us believe? And how many microplastics are actually found in the human body? In an article published in The Guardian on 13 January, scientists expressed their concerns about unfounded claims and conclusions about microplastics. We asked Barbro Melgert, professor of Respiratory Immunology at the University of Groningen, to comment on this report.

3 winnaars van de 2025 Open Research Awards:

• Curing the Curriculum: A Student-Led Open Research & Education Podcast for (medical) students. Ulf Ebeling (Faculty of Medical Sciences) and team

• Learning Russian through films. Diana Zhuravleva (Faculty of Arts) and team

• Open access co-produced book -Queer and in Care: Journeys throughcare being young and LGBTQIA+. Mónica López López (Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences) and team

Loi will receive the grant for developing safe, highly sensitive and fast  infrared detectors for use in advanced sensor technology.

Computer simulations by astronomers from the University of Groningen and elsewhere show that most of the matter in the vicinity of the Milky Way must be located in a flat plane. Above and below this plane are large voids. This distribution explains the observed movements of nearby galaxies.

As a 12-year-old, assistant professor Ester Post spent months hunched over the newspapers in the library of her hometown, Urk. It was the autumn of 1987, and the media were completely fixated on the kidnapping and — as became apparent much later —  the murder of Ahold CEO Gerrit Jan Heijn. The young Post followed every twist and turn. ‘I was fascinated by the perpetrator — and by the attitude of Gerrit Jan Heijn’s wife during the case. When it was all over, her story was beautifully narrated in a book entitled ‘De Verzoening’ (Reconciliation).’ 

At the start of 2026, President of the Board of the University Jouke de Vries looks ahead at all the developments facing the University. He discusses the new Institutional Plan that is almost complete, the need to design the administrative organization of the University differently, and the importance of the UG’s technological profile, among other topics. During the half-hour interview, he also touches on the formation of the Cabinet, collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, and activism at the university. Finally, he reveals what he considers to be the unforeseen risks.