Margriet van der Heijden
RESEARCH PROFILE
Margriet van der Heijden (m.w.v.d.heijden@tue.nl) is a part-time professor of Science Communication in Physics at the Department of Applied Physics. She aims to highlight the importance of science communication within the field of physics.
Together with Ivo van Vulpen, who occupies a similar position at Leiden University, she coordinated the Communication between Physics and Society Summer Schools (COMPASSS) for early-career physicists, which took place in Eindhoven in 2023 and in Groningen in 2024.
In collaboration with colleagues from Leiden and Eindhoven, she has conducted a survey to examine physicists' attitudes toward and engagement in science communication activities, with a preprint available for review. Her ongoing projects and research are centered on the effective use of metaphors, and on quantum for the younger generations.
A significant aspect of her role involves disseminating evidence-based insights from the science communication domain to students and peers at 果冻传媒. Van der Heijden's two-day-a-week appointment at 果冻传媒 was established in honour of the centennial of the Netherlands' Physical Society (Nederlandse Natuurkundige Vereniging, NNV).
In addition to her work in science communication Van der Heijden has been active in the field of science history with a focus on the (often overlooked) role of women in the history of science, and in physics especially. She wrote award-winning books and papers, and chairs the international working group Women in the History of Quantum Physics (WiHQP).
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Van der Heijden, trained as a particle physicist, conducted her PhD research at CERN in Geneva, focusing on quarks and their interactions in the NMC experiment. Following a three-year postdoc in particle physics at the Dutch institute NIKHEF, she transitioned to science journalism and writing. She led the science desk at Het Parool and served as a science editor at NRC, covering mathematics, physics, and astronomy. Additionally, she created 'De Kleine Wetenschap,' the children's page in NRC's science section.
From 2012 to 2024, she was a part-time lecturer at Amsterdam University College, teaching physics courses such as 'Electrons, Waves, and Electricity' (with Davide Ianuzzi), as well as the physics components of Climate and Energy courses and cosmology in 'Life, Evolution, and the Universe.' She also taught writing courses, including 'Advanced Research Writing.'
Recent Publications
Ancillary Activities
- Schrijver (Onhekend/Denkenisverrukkelijk/ Biografie Ietje Paalman- De Miranda, Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds & UItgeverij Prometheus
- Chair, International working group Women in the History of Quantum Physics
- Member at large of the Forum on the History and Philosophy of Physics, American Physical Society
- Lid, Tweede Tweede Genootschap (opgericht in 1778)
- columnist, NRC
- Lid College van de Hoogleraren van de Academie van Franeker, Academie van Franeker
- Lid, Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen