SCIENCE BATTLE

In 2014, René M. Broeders and Suzanne Streefland conceived the interactive performance Science Battle: PhD students leave behind their trusted laboratories and present their research on a podium in 10 minutes. But who tells the best story? That is what the public can decide. Join Science Battle on Synergy and be convinced by the best presentation!

Science Battle is part of the optional programme. You can join Science Battle during one of the four parallel session rounds.

The contestants

MORNING BATTLES - PARALLEL SESSION ROUND I & II

Eliala Salvadori - Developmental psychopathology
Eliala investigates humans’ early developmental trajectories of socio-communicative functioning (e.g., theory of mind ability, emotion understanding, empathy, social non-adaptations). She is particularly interested in preverbal communication, such as emotional and referential communication, and how these predict later adjustments. Crucially, infants’ ability to synchronize eye gaze, emotional facial expressions, vocalizations, and pointing gestures is the core of her research.  More information

Saskia Glas - Sociology/Religious studies
Saskia Glas studies women's rights in Arab countries. Her PhD focuses on how Islam hinders or goes hand in hand with support for equal rights for women across the Arab region. More information

Nanouschka Wamelink-van Dijk – Religious studies
Strict fasting was one of the main characteristics of late medieval female holiness. Nanouschka’s research analyses how female saints reportedly demonstrated their fasting to other people and how these spectators reacted to the performances of fasting. More information

 

AFTERNOON BATTLES - PARALLEL SESSION ROUND III & IV

Yayouk Willems - Biological Psychology
In her PhD project, Yayou Willems investigates adolescents’ susceptibility and resilience to the effects of family violence. She uses twin data of the Netherlands Twin Register to investigate the effects of family violence and their interplay with self-control taking gene-environment interplay into account. More information

Christel van Eck – Strategic communication, climate change communications
The climate change blogosphere is a good example of a space where vivid debates about climate change are taking place. Hence, Christel is focusing on the effect of blogs on climate change communications and individual risk perceptions on climate change. More information

Hayat Ahlili - Philosophy and Religious studies
The medieval Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyya inspires many Muslims with his collections of Majmu’s Legal Opinions. Hayat Ahlili dives into history and tries to figure out who sold and distributed the book since the beginning of Taymiyya’s popular work. More information