Christiaan Huygens Science Award

Jan-Willem van Ittersum has received the 2024 Christiaan Huygens Prize for his thesis ‘Partitions and quasimodular forms: Variations on the Bloch-Okounov theorem’, which addresses mathematical forms and offers elaborations on the Bloch-Okounov theorem. The Bloch-Okounov theorem describes how certain mathematical functions, called quasimodular forms, are associated with the division of numbers into subgroups, and how this relates to other areas of mathematics. 

The jury was very impressed by the quality of the thesis and its innovative contribution to the field of mathematics, writing in its report: 'Van Ittersum presents spectacular new results on profound topics within mathematics. He not only displays virtuosity in connecting different concepts and theories at a high level of abstraction, but also presents these ideas clearly and accessibly at the same time.’ Van Ittersum is now regarded the world over as an expert in the methodology described in the thesis.

About the laureate

Jan-Willem van Ittersum (born in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, in 1994) is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cologne. He previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute in Bonn. Van Ittersum received his PhD from Utrecht University on 9 June 2021 for his thesis ‘Partitions and quasimodular forms: Variations on the Bloch-Okounov theorem’. 

The 2023 Christiaan Huygens Science Prize was awarded to Nico Willem Hendrickx, a postdoctoral researcher at IBM Research in Zurich. The presentation ceremony took place at the Oude Kerk in Voorburg on 11 October 2023.

Maria Antonietta Loi, chair of the jury appointed by the Academy, presented the prize in recognition of the research for which Hendrickx received his PhD at Delft University of Technology in 2021. 'Nico was the first to construct a planar germanium quantum dot and the first to operate a qubit based on a single electron hole, demonstrating universal quantum logic with holes. His dissertation has become a benchmark in the semiconductor quantum technology community,' said Prof. Loi. 

The prize, a bronze statuette of Christiaan Huygens and a cash prize of 10,000 euros, was presented at the Oude Kerk in Voorburg.

About the laureate

Dr Nico Willem Hendrickx (born Groningen, 13 April 1994) gained his PhD at Delft University of Technology on 12 July 2021 for his dissertation 'Qubit arrays in germanium'. His supervisor was L.M.K. Vandersypen and his co-supervisor was M. Veldhorst. Hendrickx received his BSc in applied physics in 2014 and his MSc in 2017, both at the University of Twente. He went on to gain his PhD cum laude in Delft for his dissertation in experimental physics. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at IBM Research in Zürich, he recently returned to Delft, where he now heads a project aimed at further developing and scaling up germanium quantum technology.

Sara Issaoun received the 2022 Christiaan Huygens Prize for her dissertation ‘Lifting the Veil on Black Holes: Approaching the Event Horizon with High-resolution Imaging’.

From the jury report:

‘Issaoun made major contributions in the development and exploitation of new observational techniques – in calibration, imaging as well as data analysis – employed by the Event Horizon Telescope in order to image a shadow of a black hole for the first time. Sara developed some of the key pipelines and procedures, both by herself and in collaboration with others.’ 

About the laureate

Sara Issaoun (born Boghni, Algeria, 27 May 1994) gained her PhD at Radboud University Nijmegen on 3 September 2021 for her dissertation ‘Lifting the veil on black holes: high-resolution imaging of black hole inner accretion flows’. Her supervisor was Prof. Heino Falcke.

Issaoun received a BSc in physics at McGill University in 2015, and an MSc in astrophysics at Radboud University in 2017. With the Event Horizon Telescope team, she received awards including the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Physics and the 2020 Albert Einstein Medal. For her own research, she received the 2019 Christine Mohrmann Stipend and the 2021 L'Oreal-UNESCO Netherlands Rising Talent Prize. Sara is currently a NASA Einstein Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Didier Nibbering received the 2021 Christiaan Huygens Prize for his dissertation ‘The Gains from Dimensionality’.

From the jury report:

‘The subject of the dissertation is highly topical, and includes all kinds of topics that are high on the econometrics agenda, such as high-dimensional inference. Nibbering also demonstrates relevant interesting applications of the theory, in particular with regard to professional forecasters. The dissertation covers a great diversity of topics.’ 

About the laureate

Didier Nibbering received his PhD at Erasmus University Rotterdam on 5 July 2018 for his dissertation ‘The Gains from Dimensionality’. His supervisors were Richard Paap and Michel van der Wel. Nibbering is currently a lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Econometrics & Business Statistics at Monash University in Australia. Prior to his PhD programme he studied Econometrics and Management Science at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Chris Smiet is a postdoctoral scholar at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. He received the Christiaan Huygens Prize on 7 October 2019 for the research for which he received his PhD from Leiden University in 2017.

About the laureate

Chris Smiet (born Tjele, Denmark, 1987) received his PhD at Leiden University on 20 June 2017 for his dissertation ‘Knots in Plasma’. Honourable mentions went to Bas Hensen for his dissertation ‘Quantum Nonlocality with Spins in Diamond’ and to Xiaojue Zhu for his dissertation ‘Taylor-Couette and Rayleigh-Bénard turbulence: the role of the boundaries’.

Adrian Hamers received the Christiaan Huygens Science Prize for space science on 8 October 2018 for his dissertation on accurately calculating the evolution of multiple star and planetary systems.

About the laureate

Adrian Sven Hamers (born Utrecht, 27 December 1988) received his PhD at Leiden University on 21 June 2016 for his dissertation ‘Hierarchical Systems’. His supervisors were Simon Portegies Zwart (Leiden University) and Hagai Perets (Israel Institute of Technology). Hamers is a postdoctoral fellow (member) at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. He graduated cum laude in Astronomy & Space Research at Utrecht University in 2012, having previously received his bachelor's degree at the same university.

Jochem de Bresser was awarded the Christiaan Huygens Prize on 9 October 2017 for the research for which he received his PhD in 2013. According to jury chairman Jan Kiviet, ‘The dissertation on expectations and targets for pensions is of great scientific and social value.’ 

About the laureate

Jochem de Bresser (born Utrecht, 26 February 1986) received his PhD at the Center for Economic Research, Tilburg University, on 19 December 2013 for his dissertation ‘Between Goals and Expectations: Essays on Pensions and Retirement.’. His supervisors were Arthur van Soest and Frederic Vermeulen. De Bresser is an assistant professor in the department of Econometrics & Operations Research at Tilburg University, the university where he graduated cum laude in economics in 2010. He had previously received a BA (summa cum laude) in liberal arts and sciences at Utrecht University's Roosevelt Academy.