AMOLF, also known by its full name as FOM Institute AMOLF is one of the three research institutes operated by the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter, also known as FOM. The institute is one of the leading research institute in Europe in the field of physics and biological physics. It focuses on two main research themes: nanophotonics

Nanophotonics

Nanophotonics or Nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale. It is considered as a branch of optical engineering which deals with optics, or the interaction of light with particles or substances, at deeply subwavelength length scales...

 and physics of biomolecular systems

Molecular biophysics

Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology...

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History

In 1946 the Dutch government established the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) "to initiate fundamental scientific research in the Netherlands on matter in the general sense, and to support higher education". Accordingly the FOM Laboratory for Mass Spectrography was founded. The institute's name was changed to Laboratory for Mass Separation in 1960, and then to FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF) in 1966.

The original research goal was to demonstrate the separation of uranium isotopes by electromagnetic separation methods, a topic of great strategic importance after world war II. To reach this goal, a number of novelanalytical instrumentation were developed, starting with the development of mass-spectrometric tools. In 1953 AMOLF was the first European institute to successfully enrich Uranium. Soon after, research on thermal diffusion in gases followed, as did ultracentrifuge

Ultracentrifuge

The ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as 2,000,000 g . There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge...

 concepts, cathode dispersion, excitation of gases by using energetic ions and research on molecular beams. The gas-ultracentrifuge

Ultracentrifuge

The ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as 2,000,000 g . There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge...

 developed at AMOLF (under Jacob Kistemaker) provided a base for the commercial enrichment of Uranium at the today well-known company of URENCO in Almelo

Almelo

Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....

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Structure and organization

Recognized as one of the most prestigious interdisciplinary research institutes in Europe, AMOLF is headed by its director, Prof Albert Polman

Albert Polman

Albert Polman is a Dutch physicist and director of the FOM-AMOLF research laboratory in Amsterdam.Polman received his master's degree in physics and his Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Utrecht...

. Each of the five departments is headed by a tenured director/group leader.

Research

Its main topics of research as of 2007 are nanophotonics

Photonics

The science of photonics includes the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, detection and sensing of light. The term photonics thereby emphasizes that photons are neither particles nor waves — they are different in that they have both particle...

, femtophysics, and 'Physics of Life Processes'. It is located at the Science Park

Science Park Amsterdam

Science Park Amsterdam is a science park in stadsdeel Oost/Watergraafsmeer in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with accommodations for science and business and housing. Science Park Amsterdam focusses on IT and life sciences. Among the knowledge-based institutions present at the science park there are...

 Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 and has a total staff of around 175 people; 100 scientists, 50 engineers and 25 support staff.

See also

• Atomic physics
  Atomic physics
  Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and...
  
  

• Notable figures from AMOLF
  • Daan Frenkel
    Daan Frenkel
    Daan Frenkel is a Dutch computational physicist.Frenkel has carried out the largest part of his research at the FOM institute AMOLF in Amsterdam where he has been employed since 1987. Professor Frenkel is one of the select foreign members of the British Royal Society and has been awarded the title...
    
    
  • Ad Lagendijk
    Ad Lagendijk
    Ad Lagendijk is a Dutch physicist working at the FOM-institute AMOLF in Amsterdam and at the University of Amsterdam. He is also a part-time professor at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands.-Research:...
    
    
  • Albert Polman
    Albert Polman
    Albert Polman is a Dutch physicist and director of the FOM-AMOLF research laboratory in Amsterdam.Polman received his master's degree in physics and his Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Utrecht...