Marcelo Ackermann to head ARCNL

EUV optics expert Marcelo Ackermann has been appointed director of the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), the Amsterdam-based research institute co-sponsored by ASML. He’ll succeed Wim van der Zande, who is set to retire this fall.

Ackermann currently heads the Industry Focus Group X-ray and EUV Optics (XUV) at the University of Twente. He’s gained extensive experience in developing collaborations with industrial partners, including ASML, Zeiss and Panalytical. Approximately 70 percent of his group’s budget is funded through public-private partnerships and directly funded contract research.

“I’m deeply passionate about the complex journey that innovation takes – from low-TRL academic research to the extensive engineering effort required to bring innovation to maturity in complex high-tech equipment,” says Ackermann. Before his academic career, he worked in industry. This includes employment at ASML, where he was responsible for the entire EUV lithography optical chain, from the CO₂ source laser to the EUV plasma and tin droplets.

“Bringing together top-level fundamental science with the interests of an industrial partner has produced highly valuable results. Marcelo’s experience with public-private collaborations aligns perfectly with ARCNL’s ambition to further develop and broaden its partnerships with industry,” comments NWO president Marcel Levi.