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. Olaf van der Sluis. Credit: TUE/Vincent van den Hoogen “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.