No fewer than fifteen talented researchers who have recently completed their PhDs are being given the opportunity to gain valuable research experience abroad. The Rubicon round, organised by NWO, had a budget of over 3.1 million euros.
One of the Rubicon grants has been awarded to Dr. Lonneke Roelofs (Utrecht University), who currently works as postdoc for the Expertise Network. She will travel to the United Kingdom for a research visit of 24 months at the University of Bristol, School of Earth Sciences for a project on planetary pyroclastic density currents. Pyroclastic density currents are flows of hot debris and gas that form during explosive volcanic eruptions. Given the dangers of studying these currents, we have limited understanding about their mobility. By studying the behaviour of these currents on different planets, we can determine the source of their mobility on Earth.
Gaining experience in new environment
The fifteen funded projects vary enormously. Whilst Roelofs is conducting research in the United Kingdom into pyroclastic flows on planets, Dr. AA. Nana Gassa Gonga is investigating in France what makes a sign language interpreter effective on television. There are many more projects, but they all have one thing in common: the experience the researchers gain in a new environment. You can read their public summaries here.
Sources: Rubicon: 15 researchers broaden their horizons, Awarded Rubicon grants 2026. Image: Pyroclastic flow Mount St Helens 1980, USGS