Marcelo Ackermann appointed new director of ARCNL
Prof. Dr. Marcelo Ackermann will start this November as the director of ARCNL, the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography in Amsterdam. He will succeed Dr. Wim van der Zande. Ackermann brings over 20 years of experience in academic, industrial, and contract research in applied physics and engineering, and has a strong track record in both academia and industry.
Prof. Dr. Marcelo Ackermann is currently a professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Twente and chair of the Industry Focus Group X-ray and EUV Optics (XUV). This fall, he will move to ARCNL. His responsibilities will span multiple domains, including efforts to strengthen collaboration between academic research and industry, with special emphasis on EUV technology partners.
Authority in applied physics
After studying physics in Leiden, Ackermann obtained his PhD cum laude from Leiden University and the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) in Grenoble. His research, “Operando SXRD: a new view on catalysis,” explored novel methods for heterogeneous catalysis, which laid the foundation for his scientific career. Over the years, Ackermann has built an extensive research portfolio, including 63 peer reviewed journal articles and 5 patents.
Public-private partnerships
At the University of Twente, Ackermann holds scientific and managerial responsibility for the XUV Optics Group. Approximately 70% of the group’s budget is funded through public-private partnerships and directly funded contract research. In this role, Ackermann has gained extensive experience in developing collaborations with industrial partners such as ASML, Zeiss, and Panalytical. He also leads a large number of research projects funded by the EU, NWO, and TKI HTSM, In addition, he coordinates national programs focused on public-private collaboration in the field of semiconductor equipment.
Ackermann: “I like to operate within an ecosystem of academic and industrial partners, working closely with key suppliers of EUV technology. This is the kind of partnership I am eager to continue at ARCNL.”
“ARCNL is a unique partnership between NWO, several universities, and industrial partner ASML,” says NWO president Marcel Levi. “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.”
Experience with top industry players
Ackermann’s earlier experience, prior to his professorship, is also highly valuable for ARCNL. For example, from 2018 to 2020, he served as Group Leader EUV Source Laser at ASML, ARCNL’s industrial collaboration partner. At ASML, he was responsible for the entire optical chain, from the CO₂ source laser to the EUV plasma and tin droplets used in all EUV lithography platforms.
And at McKinsey & Company, Ackermann advised clients on how to reduce the time-to-market for R&D projects and increase efficiency. He led projects that enabled R&D departments to execute twice as many projects with the same number of FTEs and budget.
Ackermann: “I am deeply passionate about the complex journey that innovation takes – from low-TRL [Technology Readiness Level] academic research to the extensive engineering effort required to bring innovation to maturity in complex high-tech equipment.”
“This passion of Marcelo lies at the heart of ARCNL,” says institute manager Marjan Fretz: “Fundamental research that is closely connected to the areas of interest of industrial partners. I am confident that Marcelo’s experience will greatly contribute to further strengthening the collaboration between our researchers and industry partners.”
Contact
If you have questions about Marcelo Ackermann’s appointment as director, please contact Institute Manager Marjan Fretz (email: m.fretz@arcnl.nl).
