Albert Polman ^{Ultimate Decision-Maker}

Program director, EU Pathfinder program EBEAM at European Innovation Council

Current Job Duration: 5 yrs 2 mos (until March 2026)

HEADLINE:
Professor of physics AMOLF & UvA, co-founder SolarNL, co-founder scale-up Delmic, lecture-theatre performer, 36.1% record solar cell.

PERSONAL SUMMARY:
I am scientific group leader at AMOLF, a research institute of the Dutch Research Counsel NWO, and professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I am fascinated by the behavior of light at very small length scales (nanophotonics). As a group leader I supervise a team of PhD students, postdocs and master students. We develop novel ways to control light at the nanoscale and develop new materials and concepts for efficient and sustainable solar energy conversion. I have founded the Light Management in Photovoltaic Materials (LMPV) program ar AMOLF and was program director till 2024. LMPV brings together five research groups, 40-50 researchers altogether, that perform research centered around solar energy conversion and related topics.

I have co-founded and chaired SolarNL, the national program for research, innovation, and industrial development of solar technology, that aims to accelerate the energy transition and create new opportunities for the Dutch solar industry. It was awarded a 135 million euro subsidy from the Dutch National Growth Fund, and is expanding further.

I have co-founded the microscopy company Delmic which now employs over 40 people, and has sold over 100 high-tech systems all over the world that are based on an instrument developed in my laboratory at AMOLF.

My research group has published more than 400 papers that are very well cited by our international peers. We won several prestigious awards, including the ENI Renewable Energy Award and the EPS Research into the Science of Light Prize. With the LMPV group leaders we won the NWO Team Science Award. I am member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Netherlands Academy of Engineering.

I am working with a broad network of international collaborators, and enjoy traveling around the world to visit their labs and exchange ideas at international conferences.

Languages:

EDUCATION:
School: Utrecht University
Degree: PhD, physics
Activities: None

School: Utrecht University
Degree: Master's degree, physics
Activities: None

School: Lorentz Lyceum
Degree: VWO
Activities: None

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