After a very succesful first edition at the Matsus Fall meeting 2025, we would like to organize a symposium focused on the development and use of cutting-edge (ultrafast) spectroscopic techniques to study materials related to energy applications. Dynamic processes inside semiconductor, metallic and other (nano)materials are key to their functional use, and the crosstalk between spectroscopy and materials development serves as a feedback loop to improve both materials and device performance.
We aim to attract a broad audience ranging from material scientists and experts in optics to theoretical collaborators. Topics include a variety of applications of spectroscopy, for example:
- Development of new ultrafast pump-(push)-probe experiments.
- Novel nonlinear spectroscopic techniques.
- Real-time and/or direct-space tracking of energy and charge transfer dynamics.
- Spectroscopic insights into photovoltaic, photocatalytic, and battery materials.
- Advances in computational methods for interpreting spectroscopic data.
This symposium will serve as a platform to highlight recent breakthroughs, discuss challenges, and identify emerging opportunities at the interface of spectroscopy and materials science. Through engaging presentations and interdisciplinary discussions, we aim to foster collaborations that drive innovation in energy technologies. Researchers from academia, industry, and government institutions are encouraged to participate and contribute to this vibrant exchange of ideas.
Jaco Geuchies uses advanced (nonlinear) spectroscopic techniques to study the flow of energy, electrons and heat through various kinds of materials, ranging from colloidal nanocrystals (also known as quantum dots) to metal-halide perovskites and electrochemical systems. By creating ultrafast snapshots of the fundamental processes that govern the flow of energy, he aims to rationally manipulate materials to enhance their functionality in energy-related applications.
Taketo HandaHai Wang studied materials science at Zhejiang University and obtained his degree in 2009. Between 2009 and 2011, he finished a joint master program in nanoscience at University of Leuven (2009-2010) in Belgium and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands (2010-2011), supported by the Erasmus Mundus fellowship. From 2012, Hai started his PhD at Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz with the support of a fellowship from MAINZ (graduate school of excellence, materials science in Mainz). In his PhD, Hai worked with Prof. dr. Mischa Bonn to investigate ultrafast charge transfer processes at oxide interfaces, and graduated with the highest honor in 2016. After spending 1 year in the group of Mathias Kläui at University of Mainz as a postdoc, Hai started his independent research group “Nano- optoelectronic materials” in the Molecular Spectroscopy department at MPI-P in 2017, and further moved to Utrecht University as an assistant professor in 2023. Employing time-resolved, ultrafast spectroscopies (THz spectroscopy, transient absorption etc.), the central theme of Hai’s current research lies in understanding fundamental charge carrier dynamics and low-energy excitations in solid-state low-dimensional materials and interfaces, relevant for energy and optoelectronic applications.
Peter Zijlstra is Professor of Molecular Plasmonics in the Department of Applied Physics and Science Education at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). His research combines plasmonics and molecular sensing to develop advanced optical tools for studying biological and chemical processes at the nanoscale. His research focuses on single-molecule sensing with the aim of understanding and quantifying local (bio)chemistry and thermal processes on nanoparticles with unprecedented sensitivity. Zijlstra has received several competitive research grants, including the full NWO Talent Programme sequence of Veni, Vidi, and Vici awards, an ERC Consolidator grant, and a doctoral network.
Bart de Nijs is a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, where he leads the Physics for Sustainable Chemistry (PSC) group. His research centres on nanoscale optical energy utilisation through the design of self‑assembled plasmonic nano‑architectures. By creating extreme light confinement in molecular‑scale gaps, his group probes and controls chemical reactivity at heterogeneous interfaces, aiming to access new regimes in photophysics, photochemistry, and plasmonic catalysis.
He completed his PhD on nanoparticle self‑assembly at Utrecht University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Nanophotonics Centre in Cambridge, where he developed self‑assembled gold‑nanoparticle platforms for advanced sensing. He was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship and, in 2021, a Royal Society University Research Fellowship to establish his independent research programme.