News

‘CAS is such a fantastic institution,’ said mathematician and former CAS project leader Bjørn Ian Dundas when thinking back on his year at the Centre.

Researchers at the Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) have set out to solve the fundamental problems behind controlling electrons in atoms, molecules and materials. Curiosity, the extreme complexity of the field and the possibility of important future practical applications is what motivates them.

About half of the world’s languages use grammatical gender to sort nouns into different categories. Marit Westergaard, professor of English Linguistics at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, seeks to improve our understanding of this linguistic phenomenon with her CAS project.

How did the introduction of legislation as an instrument of governance affect politics, law and society in the High Middle Ages? Researchers at the Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) aim to give us the answers.

‘Basic research often leads us in unpredictable directions and to results we could not have guessed long in advance,’ said Bjørn Jamtveit, former CAS project leader and recently appointed member of CAS’ Board of Directors.

New technology that enables DNA analysis of ancient material has sparked new discussions about prehistoric migration. Researchers at the Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) aim to dissect the current debates and to improve the interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeologists and natural scientists.

Former CAS project leader and professor of China studies at the University of Oslo, Mette Halskov Hansen, has this autumn been appointed Vice-Rector for Climate, the Environment and Interdisciplinarity at the University of Oslo (UiO).

Most of our theories of language are based on spoken languages. Vadim Kimmelman’s Young CAS Fellow project within the field of sign linguistics will help change that.

The microbial community that lives inside the gut, the gut microbiome, is a key factor guiding human health and disease. Veronika K. Pettersen’s Young CAS Fellow project will give us new knowledge about how the maternal microbiome contributes to the founding of the infant microbiome.