The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded Veni grants to CWI researchers Tim Baarslag and Stacey Jeffery. The funding allows these researchers, who have recently obtained their PhD, to conduct independent research and develop their ideas for a period of three years.
Tim Baarslag (Intelligent and Autonomous Systems group) received the grant for his project ‘Representing users in a negotiation’. Smart grids hold great promise for a sustainable future, but they also entrust computers with a brand new responsibility: negotiating complex contracts on behalf of users, without fully comprehending their wishes. Baarslag will develop new negotiation algorithms that can strike personalized deals, even when the user’s preferences are uncertain.
Stacey Jeffery (Algorithms and Complexity group, QuSoft) received the grant for her project ‘Harnessing the Power of Near-future Quantum Computers’. Quantum computers will revolutionize the future of computing, but can we take advantage of the power of quantum mechanics for computation before we have a perfectly working quantum computer? Jeffery will explore the capabilities of primitive quantum computers that will become available in the next few years.
Veni grant
The Veni grant is one of three grants of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme of NWO, which was established to stimulate talented, creative researchers. It amounts to a maximum of 250,000 euro, allowing recipients to further elaborate their own research ideas during a period of three years. Obtaining this grant is an important step in a scientific career. This year, a total of 1,127 researchers from all scientific disciplines submitted research project proposals. Of these, 154 applicants were awarded the prestigious grant.
