Two Large-Scale Research Infrastructure projects receive 30 million investment from NWO's Nationale Roadmap

€18 million investment for the development and construction of astronomical instruments for the Extremely Large Telescope

The Dutch government recently decided to fund NOVA's part in the development of instruments for the extremely large telescope (ELT) for the next 10 years with €18 million from NWO's National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Infrastructure. This NWO funding is important for NOVA because it ensures a front-line participation in the E-ELT for all NOVA-related Dutch astronomy departments. Specifically, the instruments to be funded will be very important for the study of:

• Galaxy evolution and its connection to the Cosmic Web (MOSAIC)
• Exoplanet / protoplanetary disc research (METIS, EPICS).

These research areas are amongst the main scientific priorities of Kapteyn Institute's astronomers for the coming decades.

Read the news item €18 million investment for the development and construction of astronomical instruments for the Extremely Large Telescope

€12 million investment for the instrumentation development for the LISA gravitational wave detector

The Dutch government recently announced that it will fund the Dutch contribution for the instrumentation development for the LISA gravitational wave detector with €12M from NWO's National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Infrastructure. LISA is an ESA next-generation mission that will make unprecedented and unrivalled advances in our understanding of gravitational waves from the first billion years. This is crucial both for understanding black hole physics at these epochs in addition to being a technical marvel. Being involved in such a project is a matter of key importance for the Kapteyn institute.

Read the news item: Green light for Dutch contribution to LISA