Present, past and future
Nanotechnology has the potential to impact many aspects of our lives. Seeking to harness the properties of materials manipulated on an atomic or molecular level, researchers have gained high esteem for much-needed breakthroughs in domains ranging from health and security to energy and water technology. Meet MESA+, a leading player in this exciting field – and find out how our research, education, facilities and entrepreneurship may help you change our world.
June 1981: The University of Twente formally announces its intention to found a Sensors & Actuators (S&A) lab. Prof. Dr. Jan Fluitman, who would later become the first director of MESA (at that time without the +), is part of the committee that initiates the new labaratory.
May 1984: The S&A lab is opened on the 6th floor of the EL/TN building (now called Hogekamp). The lab of 280 m2 is used by staff and students of several research groups. It features a thin-film laboratory, a photolitography facility and a simple MOS-line for making sensors in silicium technology.
December 1990: The MESA Institute is founded in 1990. It is the first formal interfacultary research institute at the University of Twente and Prof. Dr. Jan Fluitman is its first director. The institute moves into a new building in front of the EL/TN (Hogekamp) building. The institute was formally opened on December 12, 1990, by His Royal Highness Prince Claus of the Netherlands.
Jan 15, 1999: Prof. Dr. David Reinhoudt becomes the new scientific director of MESA when his predecessor and co-founder of the institute Jan Fluitman retires. Fluitman gives a farewell interview in the UT News (in Dutch).
1999: Research group Electronics, Optics & Materials (CMO) joins the MESA institute, joining the existing groups who are focused on sensors, actuators and microsystems. The addition of the new group is signified with a new name: MESA+.
January 2003: The University of Twente starts a new Master Programme Nanotechnology. The two-year programme focuses on the design, creation and study of functional materials, structures, devices and systems by directly controlling matter on the nanometre scale.
January 1, 2007: Prof. Dr. Dave Blank is appointed as the new scientific director of MESA+. His predecessor David Reinhoudt retires nine months later. He receives the University of Twente's Medal of Honor for his many achievements as a scientist and director.
January 2007: construction of the new Nanolab building starts on the campus of the University of Twente. The new cleanroom has a surface area of 1250 square metres and is built according to extremely strict specifications in order to prevent unwanted contamination from the outside environment.
November 5, 2010: Nearly twenty years after his father opened the MESA institute, the brand new MESA+ Nanolab is opened by His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander. The new building is the largest nanotechnology research facility in the Netherlands.
May 16, 2013: The High Tech Factory, situated in the old MESA+ building, opens its doors. The former laboratory complex has been transformed into a shared production facility for micro- and nanotech based products. Companies established in the High Tech Factory have almost 5,000 square metres of cleanroom, laboratories and office space at their disposal.
November 2015: The Nanolab celebrates its fifth birthday. In those five years, the Nanolab has become a scientific and commercial succes. In that time, the Nanolab has facilitated at least 120,000 hours of research, yielded over 2,000 publications, 295 theses and 29 patents. More figures can be found here.
February 1, 2018: Prof. Dr. Albert van den Berg and Prof. Dr. Guus Reijnders jointly become the new scientific directors of MESA+. The appointments represent the start of a more finely tuned task for this internationally renowned institute, one that focuses on driving cross-disciplinary research and engaging in cooperative projects with external partners.
September 2020: During the annual MESA+ meeting, three milestones were celebrated. Thirty years ago Prince Claus of The Netherlands opened the first MESA Lab, the cleanroom facility that is now the High Tech Factory. Twenty years ago, the Centre for Materials Research of the university was added to MESA, resulting in the new name ‘MESA+’. And ten years ago, Crown Prince Willem Alexander, opened the new MESA+ NanoLab on the campus.