Distinguished NIAS Lorentz Fellowship

A Distinguished NIAS Lorentz Fellowship consists of:

• A fellowship at NIAS for 5 months from September 2025 – January 2026. It includes a private office and participation in a diverse and interdisciplinary community and, if applicable, accommodation or travel expenses.
• A personal stipend or, for scholars affiliated to a Dutch university or research institute, a Dutch University Grant, given to the institution. Both are set on € 2,500 per month.
• A workshop at the Lorentz Center on the fellowship topic, with full organizational support and a budget of € 20,000.

How to nominate

Candidates must be nominated by one of the following Dutch scientific communities: rectors and deans of Dutch universities; board and directors of the KNAW, NWO and TNO, and their respective institutes; board of the Young Academy (DJA); the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH); directors of museums and of industrial organizations with a research agenda.

Nominations (with all documents in English) are submitted by mail to partners@nias.knaw.nl.

The nomination consists of:

• The nomination letter signed by the nominator.
• Title of the intended DNLF research project.
• Brief description of the intended DNLF research project (max. 1 page) that bridges the divide between the humanities and/or social sciences and the natural and/or technological sciences. The description should be explicit on the interaction of specific alpha/beta/gamma elements and how the research project will encourage research at the interface of these different scientific areas. It should also describe the possible societal impact as well as plans for one or more publications.
• Brief outline of the NIAS-Lorentz workshop related to the fellowship topic (max. 3 pages). See the Lorentz Center Guidelines for a DLF Workshop Outline for this.
• Curriculum Vitae of the nominee (max. 3 pages).
• Short list of the nominee’s most important publications (max. 10 publications).

Evaluation

Nominations will be evaluated by the NIAS-Lorentz Fellows Advisory Board (FAB). Nominees and nominators will be informed of the outcome within six weeks of the submission deadline. The selected nominee will be asked to submit a Full Proposal for the NIAS-Lorentz Workshop at a later date.

Evaluation criteria include:

• The nominee is an outstanding scientist with an excellent academic track record.
• The nominee has the capacity to bring together researchers from necessary disciplines.
• The topic is firmly embedded within the Dutch scientific community.
• The topic is clearly interdisciplinary and brings together perspectives from the humanities and/or social sciences with the natural and/or technological sciences.
• The interdisciplinary approach will contribute to achieving the research goals.
• The topic has the potential to produce exciting advances at the interface of scientific fields.
• The topic is relevant to current societal issues.
• The topic will broaden the scope of the NIAS-Lorentz Program.
• The quality of topic and researcher will attract wider interest.

Time path

The call for DNLF nominations for the academic year 2025 – 2026 opens on 15 January 2024. The submission deadline is 18 March 2024, 12.00h, noon, CET.

Nominees and nominators will be informed of the outcome mid-June.

DNLF Fellowship Eligibility and Regulations

The Distinguished NIAS Lorentz Fellow will become a member of the fellows community at NIAS. This means that the following NIAS criteria and regulations apply:

• At least 3 years post Ph.D. research experience on the date of submission deadline.
• The nomination stimulates research at the interface between the humanities and social sciences on the one hand, and the natural and technological sciences on the other.
• The nomination must be completed correctly and contain all the requested information and required documentation.
• On the date the application is submitted, the applicant must have a valid employment contract (permanent, temporary or zero-hours contract) with a university or research institute, or must be registered for tax purposes as a self-employed, independent researcher (in Dutch: ZZP). The same requirement holds for the duration of the planned fellowship period. Applicants with a zero-hours contract are not eligible for a stipend or teaching replacement.
• The NIAS Fellowship does not constitute an employment relationship: the fellow is and remains an employee of his or her own university or research institute, or self-employed. NIAS is therefore not obligated to make social insurance contributions or to contribute to pension or unemployment insurances.
• The applicant may not resubmit a project proposal that was previously rejected by NIAS.
• Applicants/nominees can only submit an application/nomination for one type of fellowship per academic year (i.e. either a NIAS Individual Fellowship, a supported individual fellowship, a NIAS theme-group fellowship, or a supported theme-group fellowship).
• An applicant who previously held a NIAS fellowship may only apply for a Fellowship if there are at least 10 years between the application date of the previous fellowship and the current application date (exceptions are made for fellows who held a fellowship during the Covid-19 pandemic).
• Read more practical and financial information about a fellowship here.

About the NIAS-Lorentz Program

Pivotal to the NIAS-Lorentz program is the understanding that important and exciting advances are to be expected in research at the interface of the humanities and/or social sciences on the one hand and the natural sciences and/or technological sciences on the other. Topics of societal importance that require extensive collaboration across traditional scientific boundaries in order to progress are encouraged. The program also includes interdisciplinary NIAS-Lorentz Theme Groups and NIAS-Lorentz Workshops.