NWO Spinoza Prize for FOM workgroup leader René Janssen

The NWO Spinoza Prize is not only an honour but also an incentive to conduct further research. NWO awards the Spinoza Prizes each year to researchers working in the Netherlands who rank as the leading authorities in their field according to international standards. NWO is thus fostering research excellence in the Netherlands.

Prof. R.A.J. (René) (1959) is professor of molecular materials and nanosystems at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He has discovered a unique way of combining chemistry with physics and fundamental research with applied research. As a scientist, Janssen is driven by one of the major societal challenges of the future: the global transition to renewable and sustainable sources of energy. His ideas have served as an inspiration to many international researchers.

Light and energy
A great part of his research focuses on organic solar cells, especially on polymer solar cells. These cells convert energy from sunlight into electricity by means of a complex chemical and physical chain of events. Janssen's major achievement lies in understanding and modifying the subtle interaction between chemical and electrical structures, the physics of light, charge transport and morphology (the study of structures) at the nanoscale, which makes it possible to convert photons (light particles) as efficiently as possible into electricity. It is extremely important to minimize the loss of energy during each step of the conversion process. This optimization is equally important when storing solar energy. One promising approach is to store the energy from solar cells in chemical compounds at the molecular level.

Worldwide attention
In 2013, Janssen received an ERC Advanced Grant from the European Union in order to continue his work on this. It is widely believed that we will be able to produce large, flexible and lightweight films of polymer solar cells at an affordable price in the foreseeable future. Janssen’s research, and the potentially high yield of polymer solar cells (up to twenty percent), has drawn attention worldwide from both science and industry. His research on new materials and new techniques has helped polymer solar cells evolve from a scientific novelty to a potential source of energy for the future.  

Unique research
Janssen obtained his doctorate in 1987 at the Eindhoven University of Technology. After obtaining his doctorate, he worked in the United States for a year with Alan Heeger, who would eventually win a Nobel Prize. He subsequently returned to Eindhoven, where he was appointed professor in 2000 and set up a research group to investigate new materials, especially organic semiconductors. Janssen’s group is currently carrying out different kinds of research on various new materials, including solar cells, electrochemical cells, transistors and diodes. The diversity of the research makes it unique, and it has already generated many new insights. Janssen has already won several major scientific awards, including NWO's Young Chemist Award twice. He has been a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2011 and has been a university professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology since 2013.

Janssen actively participates in outreach in order to engage young people in chemistry and physics, and demonstrate his field's great social value. He regularly makes his lab available for students and teaches young children how to generate electricity from plastic.
Joint energy research Janssen heads a joint research group at TU/e and the FOM Institute DIFFER, which focuses on storage and transportation of energy by means of efficient conversion of clean energy into fuels. The research group is part of the close collaboration on energy research, which was detailed in a contract between TU/e and the Foundation FOM on 7 April 2014.

Nomination
René Janssen was nominated by the rector of the Eindhoven University of Technology and the chairperson of Technology Foundation STW. An international committee s ubsequently selects the best researchers based on international recognition of their quality as scientists, their level of appeal to young researchers, and their use and exchange of knowledge. The NWO Spinoza Prize was established in 1995. Including this year's winners, the Netherlands now has 77 NWO Spinoza laureates.