Zernike Colloquium: Meet our new faculty members

Biological Engineering: Bioinspired strategies for the development of polymeric materials

Marleen Kamperman

Living organisms provide an enormous reservoir of solutions to problems at several length scales and modalities. We use concepts from nature to synthesize and process polymeric materials for adhesive, membrane and sensing applications. We are particularly interested in the development of bioinspired polymers capable of adhesion to wet and rough surfaces.

Nanostructured organic materials studied by optical spectroscopy: From fundamental properties to function

Richard Hildner

Supramolecular assemblies provide functionalities beyond those of the molecular building blocks. We study e.g. long-range energy transport along single nanostructures, as well as the properties of the constituent building blocks, such as small organic molecules and conjugated polymers.

Probing (re)active species

Moniek Tromp

Understanding materials performance and reaction mechanisms requires structural and electronic characterisation, as well as identification of active sites, during the actual performance of the material (i.e. operando). Spectroscopic techniques, with X-rays as a speciality, are developed and applied to catalysts, energy materials (e.g. batteries, fuel cells) and art objects.

Solid-state NMR studies of dynamics and structure in biomolecular assemblies

Patrick van der Wel

Functional properties derive from a combination of molecular structure and dynamics, both in biology and in materials. Via solid-state NMR we probe the structure-function relationship in protein-lipid complexes, protein assemblies, and bio-inspired or biomimetic nanomaterials.

Please find the poster announcement here.