During their five-year membership, the members of De Jonge Akademie will commit themselves to projects in the field of science policy, interdisciplinarity, internationalisation and the relationship between science and society and science and art. All new members have proven themselves scientifically and obtained their PhDs less than ten years ago.

About Petter Törnberg

Can we develop social media platforms that promote productive political conversations? Social media are often associated with polarisation, but Petter Törnberg investigates how these platforms can actually have a positive influence on society. He develops artificial social media platforms in which thousands of interactive chatbots communicate with each other. In this way, researchers can test how different platform designs influence political discussions. This research helps to find algorithms that contribute to positive social outcomes, instead of reinforcing polarization and radicalization.

The other new members

The other new members are: Max Birk (TU Eindhoven), Jeroen Dera (Radboud University Nijmegen), Felix Hol (RadboudUMC), Björn Hoops (University of Groningen), Eline van der Kruk (TU Delft), Esther Metting (UMCG/University of Groningen), Vanessa LaPointe (Maastricht University), Lilly Verhagen (Radboudumc) and Mariëlle Wijermars (Maastricht University).

The ten scientists will be officially installed as members of De Jonge Akademie on Thursday, March 27, 2025.