Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award
The Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award is annually awarded by the Dutch Physics Council. The award recognizes an outstanding PhD thesis in the field of physics, defended at a Dutch university in the previous year. The prize is open to nominations in any subfield of physics, and for theoretical as well as experimental work. The winner receives € 5,000 and is invited to present his/her research at the national NWO Physics conference in Veldhoven in January 2027. The Dutch Physics Council invites nominations for the 2026 Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award. For the 2026 prize the PhD degree must have been awarded in the period 1 September 2025 – 1 September 2026. Nominations are to be submitted electronically according to the rules and instructions. The letter by the advisor should explicitly address the four assessment criteria in seperate pargraphs and can be maximum two pages in length. The submission deadline is 1 October 2026.
The jury for the 2026 Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award includes:
- Beatriz Noheda (RUG)
- Carlo Beenakker (LEI)
- Gerard Meijer (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)
- Gijsje Koenderink (TUD)
- Marjolein Dijkstra (UU)
- Stan Bentvelsen (Nikhef, UvA)
Former jury members: Robbert Dijkgraaf (Princeton University), Wim van Saarloos (LEI), Nynke Dekker (TUD), Theo Rasing (RU), Barbara Terhal (QuTech), Daan Frenkel (Cambridge University), Herman Verlinde (Princeton University), Cristiane de Morais Smith (UU), Roel Dullens (RU), Gloria Platero (Materials Science Institute of Madrid, at the CSIC)
Winners Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa thesis award
| Year | Winners | Honourable mention |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kevin Peters (AMOLF) | – |
| 2024 | Xiaofei Guo (UvA) | Rui Yang (UT) and Lukas Veldman (TUD) |
| 2023 | Jesse Slim (AMOLF/TU/e) | Vincent Debets (TU/e) |
| 2022 | Carmem Maia Gilardoni (RUG) | Andrea Cordaro (AMOLF) and Brian Moser (Nikhef) |
| 2021 | Anne Meeussen (AMOLF/LEI) | Guoji Zheng (QuTech/TUD), Melissa van Beekveld (RU/Nikhef) and Nico Hendrickx (QuTech/TUD) |
| 2020 | Koen Bastiaans (LEI) | Mario Avellaneda (AMOLF), Jorinde van de Vis (Nikhef) and Andreas Wallucks (TUD) |
Who were Ehrenfest and Afanassjewa?
Paul Ehrenfest (1880-1933) contributed to the foundations of quantum physics and was an inspiring teacher and mentor of a string of outstanding PhD students at Leiden University. Tatiana Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa (1876-1964), Paul’s companion in life and in science, contributed to the foundations of statistical physics. Together they made their home a place where students were encouraged to boldly explore new ideas.
Paul & Tatiana Ehrenfest. Credits: Martin J. Klein