Professor (Ad) Lagendijk
Professor in the research group 'Waves in Complex Media' at the MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Enschede.
The work of Professor Lagendijk (1947) is situated at the interface between optics and solid state physics. He carries out research into how light beams travel through materials, and especially those materials which make the propagation of light waves extremely difficult, such as paint. In 1985 he discovered the phenomenon of increased back-scatter: when light enters a pot of white paint, twice as much light is reflected back along the axis of the incident beam as in every other direction. Later his group discovered the 'Amsterdam effect', whereby paint particles reflect the light back and forth so often that they temporarily 'capture' and delay the light. See also Professor Lagendijk's website: http://www.tn.utwente.nl/cops/people/adlag/adlag.html

Professor F.R. (Frits) Rosendaal
Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, specialising in Haemostasis and Thrombosis, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden.
Professor Rosendaal (1959) is to receive the Award for his research into hereditary forms of thrombosis (blood-clotting) and the consequences this has. He carries out research into hereditary thrombotic factors and diseases such as venous thrombosis and myocardial infarction. Professor Rosendaal has discovered new risk factors for thrombosis, such as a mutant gene which means that women with the mutation are seven times more likely to develop thrombosis than women without this gene, and the fact that women who combine this gene with taking the contraceptive pill are no less than ten times more likely to develop the condition. See also:

Contact: NWO Information & Communication Dept.
news@nwo.nl
31-70-344-0713
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
28-Aug-2002