Kobus Kuipers new head of department Quantum Nanoscience TU Delft
Kobus Kuipers will succeed Herre van der Zant as head of Quantum Nanoscience. The transfer is expected to take place in mid-2016. Quantum Nanoscience is part of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology. Herre van der Zant, who was head of department for seven years, will once again completely focus on his own research.
Kuipers is currently head of the Center for Nanophotonics at FOM Institute AMOLF. He is also a professor at the University of Twente and Utrecht University. In 2013 he received an ERC Advanced Grant. Kuipers was also chair of the International Year of Light 2015 in the Netherlands. Kuipers' research covers the study and manipulation of light using structures smaller than the wavelength of light. With such structures light can be delayed, trapped and manipulated in various other ways. Besides the development of fundamental knowledge about light, this research can contribute to faster telecommunication, more sensitive (bio)sensors and new integrated chips for quantum information processing.
Due to his broad range of experience, Kuipers is the ideal addition to the Quantum Nanoscience team. With his appointment the department is gaining a senior researcher who can play a key role in building the organisation's future. Quantum Nanoscience focuses on research into the quantum aspects of a broad range of materials and devices. Six research groups work within three profiles: Quantum Theory, Quantum Information Science and Quantum Devices & Materials. They have access to state-of-the-art facilities including the cleanroom facility of Kavli Nanolab Delft. On 6 January, Kobus Kuipers gave the QN Seminar.