- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
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The Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) (NWO) is a scientific research organization in the Netherlands. NWO's mission is: "The NWO has the task of promoting the quality and innovation of scientific research, as well as initiating and fostering new developments in scientific research."
NWO is an independent administrative body under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The organization receives about 400 million euros per year, of which approximately 300 million comes directly from the ministry. NWO directs the 300 million budget toward Dutch universities and institutes, often on a project basis. Also, the NWO has its own institutes.
NWO was established in 1950 as Nederlandse Organisatie voor Zuiver-Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (ZWO). This organization did not focus on applied research; the research organization TNO was established for that purpose. In 1988 ZWO was renamed as NWO and was given the broader mission.
NWO is also known for the annual Spinoza Prizes, and the National Science.
The headquarters of the NWO is in Den Haag.
Jos Engelen, the former scientific director of CERN, is the president of NWO. Former NWO presidents include Leo Coolen. (General Director of NWO until his death in 2005), Cees de Visser and Peter Nijkamp.
Academic areas
NWO is active in the following disciplines:
- Earth and Life Sciences
- Chemical Science
- Science
- Humanities
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (MaGW)
- Medical Sciences (which is together with the former Care Research Netherlands ZonMw)
- Physics
- Engineering
- National Computing Facilities Foundation
- WOTRO Science for Global Development
Institutes
NWO has nine private and shared institutions. The Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter is a subsidiary of NWO and manages three of the institutes:
- FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF)
- FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen
- FOM Institute National Institute for Nuclear and High Energy Physics (NIKHEF)
The institutes directly operated by NWO include:
- Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI)
- ASTRON
- SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
- Institute of Dutch History (ING)
- Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR)
External links
52°5′0″N 4°19′0″E / 52.083333°N 4.316667°E (Den Haag)
Categories:- Research institutes in the Netherlands
- Organisations based in The Hague
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