New structure for NWO-I directorate

The NWO executive board has decided to change the governance of NWO-I to make the organisation more effective and incisive. A general director will be appointed for the entire NWO-I who will provide leadership to the directors of the institutes.

Interim collective labour agreement: extension of generation plan

On 31 December 2019, a new collective labour agreement (CAO) will apply for NWO-I. That is an interim CAO with mainly technical changes but no new content. A relevant item for NWO-I is the extension of the generation plan scheme until 1 April so that employees who then reach their pensionable age minus five years can also take exceptional leave. The employers and the employee organisations expect to conclude a new substantive CAO at the start of 2020.

NWO-I website redesigned

The NWO-I website has been tailored to its most important stakeholders since this week: new and current employees. New visitors get an impression of attractive research at institutes straight away and they can immediately see how NWO-I relates to NWO and the institutes.
Employees can now find personnel information more easily. The menu structure has been redesigned, the site has been cleaned up (a thousand pages have been discarded), and the site is now completely bilingual. The website has also been given a fresh new look.

Methane sources in Turkmenistan closed off after discovery from space

Researchers from, among others, NWO Institute SRON found three anomalous methane sources in an oil and gas facility in Central Asia, using satellite instrument TROPOMI. These sources have now been closed off, preventing a climate impact equal to the use of one million cars.

Spectacular simulations of circling stars

Nikhef postdoc Tim Dietrich performs advanced computer calculations and produces simulations of colliding neutron stars. On 24 October, the German Max Planck Society rewarded his efforts with the Heinz Billing Prize. ‘The longest calculation that I have ever performed took nine months.’

News from the NWO Central Works Council

NWO Central Works Council seeks new members! If you work at one of the university research groups of NWO-I, then please read the piece about the elections. In addition, NWO Central Works Council (COR NWO) has advised the executive board representative about the change of governance at NWO-I.

About NWO-I

NWO-I, the Institutes Organisation of NWO, is an independent foundation belonging to NWO. The following nine institutes are part of NWO-I: AMOLF, ARCNL, ASTRON, CWI, DIFFER, Nikhef, NIOZ, NSCR and SRON. The 200-plus workgroups in which physics research takes place at Dutch universities and knowledge institutes are also part of NWO-I.

Contact

NWO-I
www.nwo-i.nl
info-nwoi@nwo.nl
(030) 600 12 11

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