Four Leiden University researchers awarded Vici grants
From research on the first human ancestors to leave Africa to mathematical models in random disturbances. For Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Dutch Research Council.
The grants provide creative space for adventurous, talented, pioneering researchers. They receive up to 1.5 million to develop their own line of research and expand their research group. The grant allows them to do research of their choice, thus boosting innovative research.
The Leiden recipients of a Vici grant are:
Hermen Jan Hupkes (Mathematical Institute)
Mathematical models for the emergence of structures such as rings, spirals and waves in nature are typically based on an idealised world, where random disturbances and complicated spatial structures are ignored. The researchers will develop a framework to describe such effects in a precise fashion, which will allow us to actually include them in our models.
Amanda Henry (Archeology)
Homo erectus was the first of our ancestors to leave a narrow range of African habitats and expand into Eurasia, but the behavioural changes that allowed this migration remain debated. This project will use an interdisciplinary combination of new and established methods to understand how changes in diet and food processing (such as cooking and fermentation) contributed to this species’ expansion into new regions.
Willemijn Waal (Institute for Area Studies)
It is generally assumed that the alphabet was only introduced to Greece in the 8th century BCE, after a long illiterate ‘Dark Age’ of some four centuries. New discoveries and 14C dates suggest, however, that this scenario is no longer tenable. This project will explore the possibility that the Greek alphabet is much older but was first written down on perishable materials that have not survived. If this hypothesis is proven to be correct, the historical repercussions will be significant, as it will fundamentally change our perception of literacy in the Aegean and the history of the alphabet.
Lenneke Alink (Education and Child Studies)
Child maltreatment has serious consequences, and its prevalence is difficult to reduce. This is partly due to the limited effectiveness of interventions aimed at stopping and preventing maltreatment. A factor that can play an important role in this is the trust parents have in care providers. This study will examine predictors of trust and the role of trust in the effectiveness of interventions. The researchers will also look at the relationship between trust in care providers and other forms of trust, for example in organisations, politics and society.