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Silvia Lenaerts (1966) is a pioneer bridging academia, industry, and policy. After earning a PhD in Chemistry at KU Leuven and IMEC, she founded Heraeus Sensor-Nite, later acquired by Bosch, and led innovation programs in air purification. Since 2002, she has advised the European Commission and contributes to European innovation policy, including as EIT board member. At the University of Antwerp, she built the DuEL research group and drove major growth in research funding, education, and innovation. As Vice-Rector, she established key open innovation hubs. Since May 2023, she serves as Rector Magnificus of Eindhoven University of Technology, advancing collaboration and societal impact.
Dr. Tsu-Jae King Liu earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. She joined the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center as a Member of Research Staff in 1992, to research and develop thin-film transistor technologies for high-performance flat-panel display and imaging applications. In 1996 she joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley where she has served in various administrative leadership positions, most recently as Dean of the College of Engineering from July 2018 through June 2025. In July 2025 she started serving as President of the National Academy of Engineering.
Liu is renowned for her contributions in the field of microelectronics, which include co-developing the FinFET transistor design that is used in all leading-edge computer chips and smartphones today. She has authored over 550 publications and holds 97 U.S. patents. Her recognitions include a DARPA Significant Technical Achievement Award, IEEE Electron Devices Society Education Award, IEEE Electron Devices Society Distinguished Service Award, and the IEEE Founder’s Medal.
Liu is a Fellow of the IEEE and the National Academy of Inventors, and she was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2017. She has served on the Boards of Directors for Intel Corporation and MaxLinear Inc., and has contributed nationally as an advocate for U.S. microelectronics workforce development.
Bart Smolders is Scientific Director of the Casimir Institute, where he leads research on future chips and high-tech systems. He is also Full Professor and Chair of the Electromagnetics group in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).
As Scientific Director, Bart defines the research roadmap for semiconductor related activities and guides how TU/e accelerates innovation from fundamental research to real-world impact. Interdisciplinary collaboration plays a central role in this effort and he works closely with industry and ecosystem partners across the Brainport region and throughout Europe.
Bart’s key areas of expertise include antenna systems and microwave engineering. He is co- founder of the National Growth Fund program FNS 6G, where he serves as a member of the core team. He is also a co- founder of AntenneX, a startup company that provides over-the- air test facilities for millimeter wave software antennas used in 5G/6G communication and radar sensing applications.
Next to his research activities, he was the dean of the Electrical Engineering department of the TU/e in the period 2016-2023. Currently, he is the Scientific Director of the Casimir Institute.
Víctor Sánchez Martín, currently serving as the Managing Director of the Casimir Institute, brings over a decade of experience in innovation management within high-tech sectors. Previously, he spent seven years as a program manager in the Electronic Systems Group at the Electrical Engineering department, connecting research visions with industrial needs. Before joining TU/e, Víctor dedicated eight years as the Innovation and Technology Director for a Spanish SME, contributing to key decisions within business organizations. His collaborative efforts include coordinating numerous European research projects along with several Dutch and Spanish initiatives. Víctor’s professional journey is driven by a genuine passion for creating strategic programs rooted in visionary roadmaps. He focuses on coordinating activities between partners to address industry needs, striving for impactful progress within the dynamic realm of high-tech innovation.
Paul L. Heremans is Corporate CTO at imec and senior fellow. He is also Professor in the Electrical Engineering (ESAT) department at the KU Leuven. Paul received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the KU Leuven, Belgium, in 1990. He joined the opto-electronics group at imec, where he contributed to advancements in optical inter-chip interconnects and high-efficiency III-V thin-film surface-textured light-emitting diodes. From 2013 to 2016, he was technology director at the Holst center, Eindhoven, specializing in organic and IGZO TFT, OLED and display technologies. Since 2024, he served as senior vice president of the sector Industry & Consumer at imec. Since October 2025, Paul is Corporate CTO. He is responsible for overseeing imec’s technology strategy in semiconductor technology, devices, and sensors. He drives innovation across research and development, fosters collaboration between industry and academia, and ensures that technological initiatives align with the organization’s long-term vision. Paul is recognized for his scientific excellence and impactful contributions and holds the distinguished title of Senior Fellow at imec. He has been the holder of two advanced ERC grants.
Kevin Williams is a Full Professor and Chair of the Photonic Integration research group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). His key fields of expertise include photonic integrated circuits, semiconductor lasers and their application in communications and sensing. Kevin’s research group explores the scaling properties of photonic circuits, enabling faster and more energy-efficient components and circuits.
Kevin Williams graduated in Electronic Engineering from the University of Sheffield and received his PhD from the School of Physics at the University of Bath in 1995. He subsequently moved to the University of Bristol where he was awarded a Royal Society university research fellowship to study high speed and high power semiconductor lasers. In 2001, he moved to the University of Cambridge where he was also appointed a Fellow and lecturer at Churchill College Cambridge. He moved to the Electro-optic Communications group at TU/e in 2006 after receiving an EC Marie Curie Chair award. In 2011, he received a Vici award from the Dutch NWO to perform research into large-scale high-performance photonic integrated circuits
Martijn Heck has a PhD in electrical engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, on the topic of photonic integration, where he is currently a full professor (since 2020). He co-founded and acted as the Scientific Director of the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute (2021-2024) and co-founded the Casimir Institute for Future Chips and High-Tech Systems (2025). Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Free University of Amsterdam (2008-2009) and the University of California Santa Barbara, US (2009 – 2013), and an Associate Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark (2013 – 2020). His research is focused on photonic integration, from technology development, including heterogeneous integration techniques, to applications in sensors, microwave and terahertz photonics, quantum technology and chip-to-chip and on-chip interconnects.
Joost Kok has been Vice-Dean of Mathematics and Computer Science and a professor of Applied Data Science at Eindhoven University of Technology since May 2024 and he is Computer Science and Head of Science Foundational Technologies at the Casimir Institute. Before moving to Eindhoven University of Technology, he was employed by the University of Twente since 2018, where he was Dean of the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science. Previously, he worked at Leiden University as a professor of Computer Science and as a professor of Medicine, at VU Amsterdam, at the Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, at Utrecht University and the Abo Akademi University in Finland. He is currently also a board member of the Netherlands eScience Center. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and a Master’s in Mathematics.
Anouk Hubrechsen is the CEO and co-founder of Antennex, a fast-growing company that makes antenna-measurement systems. She holds an MSc (2019) and a PhD (2023) from Eindhoven University of Technology, where her research on antenna measurements in reverberation chambers became the foundation of Antennex. She was a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (CO, USA) in 2018 and 2019. Her work has produced multiple patents and over 40 scientific publications. Anouk has grown Antennex from a university lab to an international team serving customers across Europe, the US, and Asia. She is active in several standardization committees and regularly advocates for innovation and diversity.
Michael Machold is Director of Venture Lab Quantum/Semicon at TUM Venture Labs – a joint initiative of TU Munich and UnternehmerTUM, Europe’s leading startup hub. He leads the incubation program for deep-tech founders in semiconductors, photonics, nanotech, and quantum technologies, one of Europe’s most focused initiatives at the intersection of frontier science and startup formation. Before joining TUM Venture Labs, Michael spent over a decade at Infineon Technologies, most recently as Director and Head of Product Management for Automotive Microcontrollers and Global Lead for Automotive Cybersecurity. He holds an M.Sc. from the Technical University of Munich and an Executive MBA from ESADE Business School Barcelona.
Martin Schuurmans (July 1946) is a TU/e alumnus (PhD 1971) and a TU/e and TU/Delft emeritus professor, former EVP of Philips Medical, Philips Fabrication Technology and Philips Research, and in 2006/7 founder and head of a school for biomedical sciences in Shenyang, China (now part of NEU). In 2008, he was the co-founder and first chairman of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Prof. Aida Todri-Sanial is a Full Professor in the Integrated Circuits Group in EE Department at TU/e and Head of Science Next-Gen Chips at the Casimir Institute. Her research interests focus on physics-based computing, neuromorphic computing and quantum computing. Prior to joining TU/e she has held several R&D positions at CNRS, STMicroelectronics, Cadence Design System and IBM TJ Watson Research.