Olaf van der Sluis has succeeded Bart Smolders as scientific director of the Casimir Institute, Eindhoven University of Technology’s research institute for chips and high-tech systems. His appointment took effect on 1 November. Van der Sluis was already a member of the institute’s management team as head of science for high-tech equipment.
A professor in TUE’s Mechanics of Materials section, Van der Sluis studies materials and interfaces in high-tech systems. After earning his doctorate at the university in 2001, he spent more than twenty years at Philips in scientific and leadership roles. He returned to TUE as a full-time professor in 2024 and helps drive its strategic partnership with ASML.
“Our mission is to become the university for chips and high-tech systems. I look forward to making this mission a reality together with our team, our researchers and our partners. I’m highly motivated to further strengthen the Casimir Institute as a catalyst for collaboration within TUE and as a reliable and credible partner within the Dutch and European ecosystems for chips and high-tech systems. I also want to give young researchers room to grow,” says Van der Sluis.
Smolders led Casimir from its founding last year, having agreed to serve as scientific director for one year. He previously headed the Future Chips Flagship, which laid the groundwork for the institute.
