Holst Centre hosts first PhD Day

With its wide range of research interests, Holst Centre is the center of extensive network of researchers covering universities across the Netherlands and beyond. On November 9th 2011, doctoral students from many of these universities came together at Holst Centre’s first PhD Day.

The aim of the day was to give students from the various universities a better understanding of the Holst Centre research community of which they are a key part. The Day began with an overview of the Holst Centre’s research by Holst Centre staff Ruud Vullers, Paul Blom and Sywert Brongersma. Students were also taken on a tour of Holst Centre’s facilities on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, including a chance to see demos of some of the breakthroughs Holst Centre has made in its six year history.

Then the stage was given over to the students themselves. In two sessions either side of lunch, five students presented talks. Topics ranged from low-energy SRAM, body area networks and RFID to novel gas sensors and improving the performance of barrier layer for flexible electronics. In addition, 16 further students presented posters on subjects as varied as new materials and production techniques, measuring mental stress, investigating system reliability and enzyme-driven biofuel cells for medical implants.

Alongside showcasing the varied research being carried out by students connected to Holst Centre, the day was also a unique opportunity for students from different universities and fields to network. There was plenty of opportunity to mingle and share experiences over lunch, the poster sessions and the award ceremony that closed the day. Anne-Marije Andringa of the University of Groningen won Best Talk for her presentation on FET-based nitrogen dioxide sensors. Best Poster went to Jorge Vieyra-Salas of the Technical University Eindhoven (Controlling solution deposition with infrared irradiation).

“As a PhD student, it is always good to get an opportunity to talk about your work. And it was particularly nice to meet up with other students who, like me, are more focused on applications and are working in the space between academia and industry,” said prize winner Anne-Marije Andringa.