ANP Productions | Bron: ANP
The Hague
The strongest MRI scanner in the world is being built in Nijmegen. The researchers will receive a grant of 19 million euros for the project. In total, nine large Dutch scientific projects will receive a combined amount of 140 million euros, reports the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). Money also goes to the largest telescope, which is being co-developed by the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy.
At Radboud University in Nijmegen, scientists are working on the world’s first MRI system with a strength of 14 Tesla. That is the unit with which the strength of the magnet is expressed. For example, the device can be used to better map the functioning of the brain.
The Extremely Large Telescope is another project where money is going. The largest telescope in the world is being built in Chile and should “provide fascinating new insights into the place of the earth as a living planet in the universe”. The program in the Netherlands will develop three instruments for the telescope.
Virtual facilities
The projects are part of the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Scientific Infrastructure. In addition to specialized devices, the money is also intended to be used to develop “virtual facilities”. For example, one of the projects consists of research into the “safe and ethically responsible” linking and analysis of large amounts of data.
The 140 million is the first of two funding rounds for large-scale scientific infrastructure. A total of 200 million euros is available for the next five years. NWO chairman Marcel Levi calls the investments “a necessary condition for internationally leading research in almost all fields”.