MESA+ Institute | University of Twente

REALIsING GRAND SOLUTIONS WITH THE EXTREMELY SMALL

At MESA+, we believe in realising grand solutions with the extremely small. We contribute to solving current and future societal challenges. We do this by using our fascination with the extremely small. We bring societal challenges inside and use our fascination to work on innovative and sustainable solutions. We focus on societal challenges in four application areas: Health, AgriFood & Water, Security, and Energy & Sustainability.

With our research, we contribute to a fair, sustainable and digital society.

Ground-breaking research

Embracing a cross-disciplinary approach and benefiting from the MESA+ NanoLab, over 500 researchers deliver high quality, frequently ground-breaking research. MESA+ actively seeks collaboration with external partners providing an excellent setting for consortium formation. Next to our excellent scientists and facilities, we offer a strong regional ecosystem that creates the breeding ground to let ideas blossom and grow to relevant, successful solutions and businesses.

News

Imaging the invisible

UT scientists develop new tool to improve chipmaking machines

Nano droplets go skiing at high temperatures

Currently, many (nano)structures are grown in layers, one above the other, but their ordering on the atomic scale is generally far from perfect. The researchers aim for a better understanding of these processes that can eventually lead to smaller, faster and overall better nanotechnology and have, in a worldwide first observation, discovered pre-solidification in droplet mixture. They recently published these exciting findings in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

DNA origami to create virus capsids of all shapes and sizes

In an international collaboration involving the University of Twente and universities in Finland and Australia, researchers have succeeded in reprogramming the capsids of plant viruses into different shapes. They did this by folding nanoscale DNA structures into moulds around which the capsids form. They have published the results of their research in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Protecting light communication with random objects

Researchers from the Complex Photonic Systems (COPS) group used two layers of random materials to encrypt and decrypt a message sent via light communication. With that, they hid the sender and receiver simultaneously, and only when the light passed through both layers was the message received. The research team published their findings in the journal Optics Express, and believes this proof of concept has applications in visible light communication systems, light fidelity (LiFi), and optical fibre communications.

NWO ENW-M grants for two UT researchers

Annemarie Huijser and Pantelis Bampoulis both receive an ENW-M grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Huijser's research focuses on the interface of chemistry and physics and is carried out in collaboration with Andrea Baldi of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Bampoulis will develop a pioneering transistor made of germanene that loses less energy in the form of heat.

More news

Life as a PhD-student at MESA+

What is it like to be a PhD student at the MESA+ institute? Rosa Luca Bouwmeester's research focused on Topological insulators, a relatively new class of materials. ‘In close collaboration with other groups, we were able to think, and work, out of the box in order to take the research a decisive step further.’

Signing Ceremony MESA+ en IIS

MESA+ and the Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo expressed a convergence of will. On Monday 5 October 2020, both parties signed a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). “This agreement further strengthens the collaboration of both institutions”, says Prof Dr Albert van den Berg, scientific director of MESA+.

Our NanoLab in 360°

MESA+ has a 1250 m2 state-of-the-art NanoLab which consists of a Cleanroom and Analysis facilities. Research on the nanometre scale needs a laboratory with extreme specifications. Any influencing effects from the environment, such as vibration and electromagnetic disturbances, are virtually non-existent. The environmental conditions inside the building are extremely stable. Discover our NanoLab in 360°!

MESA+ top publication: ‘ ‘Uniform line fillings’, Physical Review E

For determining the optical properties of new materials, researchers from the University of Twente wanted to measure the size of the holes in between chords in nano 'mikado boxes'. They now come up with a method using tiny moveable balls blowing up. This method is published in Physical Review E.