A numerical perspective on Nature authors.

At the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, Dirk Spengler is writing up his PhD thesis in structural geology. Undertaking the PhD project was an easy decision, he says, as it offered a combination of all the things he enjoys most about research — fieldwork collecting samples, lab time analysing data and the chance to do some teaching.

“As a PhD student, it took some time to realize that the project was entirely mine,” admits Spengler, but he has since enjoyed taking it in his own direction. On page 913, Spengler and his colleagues present some of the project's results. They show that mantle fragments (peridotites) from Norway originated at much greater depths than the thickness of the oldest continents, which means the fragments can be used for the direct study of continental evolution in the early Earth.

9 people are in the structural-geology group at Utrecht University.

65 authors working in the Netherlands have presented original research in Nature this year (3% of all authors).

4 authors working in the Netherlands have published more than one paper in Nature this year.

20% is the accept rate for manuscripts submitted to Nature from Utrecht University over the past calendar year.