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Computers are already capable of making independent decisions in familiar situations. But can they also apply knowledge to new facts? Mark Winands, the new professor of Machine Reasoning at the Department of Advanced Computing Sciences, develops computer programs that behave as rational agents.

State-owned sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), like that of FIFA World Cup host nation Qatar, are major shareholders in Western industrial and cultural assets. Is that a cause for concern? FASoS’ Adam Dixon has some answers.

From polarisation, misinformation and populists at home to geopolitical pressure from abroad: European democracy is feeling the strain. In an effort to uphold and expand one of its core values, the EU is financing a research project on the promotion of democracy. Professor Giselle Bosse, an Eastern Europe expert at FASoS, leads the work package ‘Democratisation and economic modernisation in authoritarian and hybrid regimes.’

This summer, Dr. Paola Diomede (Circular Chemical Engineering) received the William Crookes prize. The prize is awarded for major contributions in plasma physics.

They can do it already: deliver pizzas and medicines, inspect windows for cleanliness, monitor crowds. And all that autonomously, without a human driver. But how do you ensure that drones comply with laws and regulations? Professor of Private Law and technology expert Gijs van Dijck translates legal rules such that drones can understand and implement them.

Teaching toddlers and pre-schoolers a healthy diet is not easy. But children are not preordained to dislike vegetables, say PhD candidates Anouk van den Brand and Britt van Belkom. The key to success: persist and reward.

After years of meaningful work at our university, Prof. Fons Coomans gave his farewell address to the Faculty of Law on 2 September, where he examined important human rights questions. How do they impact our daily lives? And how do they affect people on a personal level? Will future generations still have human rights?

Hannah Brodersen, currently working as a postdoc at the Université de Neuchâtel (Switzerland), was awarded the Prize for her Doctoral thesis ‘Longer than life: How the ICTY strengthened the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia’.

Data scientist Marijn ten Thij studies human behaviour on the basis of messages posted on social media. For example, he mapped the changing mood during the corona pandemic using 3.5 million tweets. The analysis of this kind of data is not only socially relevant, it could also help individuals in psychological distress. The underlying patterns are quite intriguing, says Ten Thij.

A Global History of Hungary, 1869-2022 is a comprehensive book that presents the country as an open society interacting with other nations, mainly within Europe.