Wiskundige vergelijkingen worden gebruikt om allerlei dagdagelijkse fenomenen te modelleren. Deze vergelijkingen zijn vaak erg gecompliceerd en uitdagend om op te lossen. In dit projectvoorstel zullen wiskundigen nieuwe methodes ontwikkelen om zulke vergelijkingen snel en nauwkeurig op te lossen met een computer, en ze gebruiken in concrete toepassingsgebieden. Mathematical equations are used to model many important phenomena. These equations are often complicated and challenging to solve. In this proposal, mathematicians will develop new strategies for solving such equations efficiently and accurately on a computer, and apply them to real-world problems.

The research master Linguistics:The Study of the Language Faculty and the PhD Programme Linguistics are both executed by the Utrecht linguistics research institute UiL OTS, a constituent part of the Graduate School Humanities of Utrecht University. UiL OTS also participates in the Netherlands Graduate school of Linguistics (LOT), of which it is the administrative centre. In the graduate programme/research institute we investigate the systems underlying language, speech and language use. In our research, we seek to develop an understanding of the rules and laws that govern the structure of particular languages, and the general laws and principles governing all natural languages, i.e. the nature of the computational system of human language in its many guises. Research is conducted on the basis of the understanding that properties of the computational system of language must meet conditions imposed by the systems of use/interpretation, but cannot be determined on the basis of functional considerations alone. Language use involves different kinds of knowledge and skills: syntactic and semantic knowledge, detailed lexical knowledge, knowledge of the sound system including production and perception, but also pragmatic knowledge (conversational and discourse strategies), knowledge of the world and of social and cultural procedures. The graduate programme focuses its research on the division of labour between different components of the language system, and between knowledge of language and other cognitive domains (e.g. conceptual and world knowledge), and the interface between the language system and the systems of interpretation and use. Centrally positioned in this domain is the study of the relation between the cognitive system and the linguistic setting that is crucial for (primary and secondary) language acquisition and processing, integrating ideas from current linguistic theorizing with experimental investigations. The study of language pursued at the graduate programme/research institute centres on three different dimensions, summarized in the following (partly ordered) areas of research: (i) The architecture of the language system, i.e. the study of language as an independent cognitive system, and the modelling of the interaction between its parts. (ii) The study of the cognitive processes underlying (primary and secondary) language acquisition and language processing, i.e. the study of language development and sentence/discourse processing, their modelling, and the processes involved in language impairment and language loss. (iii) The study of language as it is used in situations that differ in social, historical, geographical contexts, or modality (spoken vs. written language; the interaction of language and visual information).

The AI, Media and Democracy ELSA Lab researches the impact of AI on the democratic functioning of the media. Together with journalists, media professionals, designers, citizens, researchers and public and societal partners, the Lab develops and tests value-driven, human-centred AI-applications and ethical and legal frameworks for responsible use of AI. The aim of the Lab is to stimulate innovation of AI applications that strengthen the democratic function of media.

The HAPKIDO project studies the transition to quantum-safe public-key infrastructures (PKIs). The project has been running for three years and is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach: fundamental cryptographic research, technical analysis and prototyping, and governance and societal aspects. The first line focuses on the security proofs of quantum-safe digital signing methods; in the second line, a demonstrator is being developed for signing on electronic documents. Finally, within the last line, various governance aspects of quantum-safe PKIs are central in various scientific publications. There is a HAPKIDO website www.tno.nl/hapkido where all reports and other HAPKIDO material can be found.

Dit onderzoek richt zich op het gebruik van actuele verkeersdata bij goederenvervoer (stadslogistiek) in de metropoolregio Amsterdam. Hierbij ligt de focus op de toepassing bij de levering van levensmiddelen aan winkels, convenience stores en consumenten. Dit onderzoek doen wij in nauwe samenwerking met Ahold en Simacan, welke de praktische uitvoering op zich nemen. In dit onderzoeksproject wordt de beschikbare laad- en loscapaciteit in relatie gebracht tot de actuele positie en de verwachte aankomsttijd van vrachtwagens op de laad- en loslocatie én bovendien worden op basis hiervan, en actuele verkeersdata, uniforme rerouting en bufferinstructies gegenereerd die door boodcomputersystemen verwerkt en aan de chauffeurs gecommuniceerd kunnen worden. Deze functionaliteit draagt bij aan verbetering van de doorstroming van goederenvoervoer, en de leefbaarheid van binnensteden. Het laatstgenoemde door het voorkomen van onveilige situaties met dubbel geparkeerde vrachtwagens en door vermindering van onnodig gereden kilometers. De effecten zullen meetbaar zijn en tot de gewenste gevolgen leiden wanneer deze uiteindelijk breed worden toegepast. Verschillende stakeholders profiteren van de uitkomsten van dit onderzoek: vervoerders en verladers kunnen branstofkosten en transportkosten reduceren, beter planningen maken, het wagenpark optimaal inzetten, bezitting laad-losplaatsen betrouwbaarder krijgen en de snelheid van leveringen verhogen. Ontvangers van goederen kijgen beter inzicht in aankomsttijd van vrachtwagens, beter voorradbeheer en hebben minder verkeershinder bij de winkels. Wegbeheerders kunnen bestaande infrastructuur beter benutten en onderhouden, en hun verkeersmanagement verbeteren door beschikbaarheid data/informatie. De effectiviteit van de toepassing wordt gemeten en geplaatst in het licht van mogelijkheden voor opschaling binnen de logistieke sector of opschaling bij andere modaliteiten.