Rembert Duine appointed as Professor of Theory of Nanoscale Systems

As of 1 August, Physics researcher Rembert Duine is appointed as Professor of Theory of Nanoscale Systems. The chair is part of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Utrecht University, where Duine worked as an associate professor until now. He is also a part-time professor on the chair Theory for spin-based nanoelectronics at Eindhoven University of Technology. Earlier this year, Duine received a Vici grant from NWO, in part to continue his research into black holes on electronic chips.

Rembert Duine studies hard condensed-matter physics, in particular ultra-cold atoms and spintronics. Novel nanoscale systems, e.g. in spintronics, aim to offer more energy-efficient solutions to the global growth in energy consumption and the increasing demands on materials. This is achieved by finding novel ways of re-using waste heat to generate spin currents, read and write magnetic bits, and to transport information with minimal energy loss. Duine is an expert on spintronics and works in close collaboration with various experimental groups around the world on developing new devices towards this goal.

Lecturer of the year

Duine’s research contributes to the Utrecht research themes Pathways to Sustainability and Complex Systems Studies. He is also very successful in education; in 2014 he was elected Lecturer of the Year within the Physics programme. As a Professor, he will continue to promote excellent education, both in the Physics bachelor’s programme and the Master’s programmes in Experimental Physics and Theoretical Physics. Since 2000, ten PhD candidates have already obtained their PhDs under his supervision, and five more are in the process of doing so.

Rembert Duine

Duine obtained his Master’s degree and his PhD (cum laude) in theoretical physics at Utrecht University and then worked as a researcher in Utrecht, Eindhoven and Texas. He was appointed part-time professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2016. Duine has previously received an ERC Consolidator Grant (2016), an ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant (2008) and an NWO Vidi grant (2007), and he is programme leader of the FOM programme Magnon Spintronics (2014).