Teaching
As of September 2009 the majority of my teaching duties are affiliated with the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS), which runs the beta-gamma bachelor where I will be teaching and keep an eye on, and possibly improve, the beta-curriculum. In addition I am also involved in the science curriculum and teaching at the Amsterdam University College (AUC). Below you can find information regarding courses, lecture notes,project descriptions etcetera.
Courses and Lecture series
- Beta-Gamma Keerpunten lecture on string theory (23 Nov 2009): [pdf]
- Information about handouts, reading material and schedule of the Fall 2009 IIS Relativity course can be found at UvA Blackboard. The presentations of the lectures on General Relativity, Cosmology and Black Holes by me and Erik Verlinde can also be downloaded here in pdf format: Lecture 1 on the equivalence principle (26/10/09), Lecture 2 on curved space-time and gravity (2/11/09), Lecture 3 on Big Bang cosmology(9/11/09), Lecture 4 on modern cosmology (16/11/09), Lecture 5 on black holes (30/11/09), Lecture 6 on gravity and quantum mechanics (07/12/09),
- In the Spring of 2010 I will be teaching (and administrating) the AUC Life, Evolution, Universe Theme course.
- Starting in the Fall of 2010 I will be teaching an AUC and Beta-Gamma course on "Nonlinear Dynamics".
- In the honours program I am administrating and teaching the "Energy and Climate: a natural science perspective" course.
- In addition I am involved as one of the core supervisors in the Beta-Gamma "vrije domein" bachelor thesis project."
Bachelor Projects
These come in two types: theory projects (6 EC) for a group of up to 4 2nd year bachelor students and theory bachelor research projects (12 EC) for 3rd year students ready to graduate. Some suggested topics are listed below (in Dutch) and can be done in either of the two types.
- Versnelde waarnemers en de Unruh temperatuur
- Het antropische principe in de theoretische natuurkunde
- Inflatie en fluctuaties in de kosmische achtergrondstraling
Master Projects (thesis)
Want to graduate? Just drop by my office and tell me about your interests. Below are some short suggestions for master's projects that could lead to a thesis.
- Eternal inflation and the string landscape
- String Theory on flat space sections
- Cosmology in Anti-de Sitter space