Ewold Verhagen

Ewold Verhagen is a **Professor of Applied Physics (part-time)** at Eindhoven University of Technology and **Group Leader** of the Photonic Forces Group at AMOLF, Amsterdam. His research focuses on light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, particularly coupling between photons and phonons in nano-optomechanical systems. He explores fundamental principles like spatiotemporal symmetries and quantum mechanics, with applications in sensing, metrology, and communication.

Education & Career: PhD in Physics from AMOLF (FOM Institute), followed by a postdoc at EPFL under Tobias Kippenberg. Key breakthroughs include demonstrating optomechanical cooling to near-quantum ground states and pioneering topological photonics in nanoscale systems.

Research Interests: Quantum optomechanics, topological photonics, nano-optomechanical sensing, synthetic gauge fields, and photonic crystal engineering. His work bridges theoretical and experimental approaches to push boundaries in nanophotonics.

Achievements: Recipient of the **NWO Vidi Grant (2014)** and **ERC Starting Grant (2017)**. Over 50 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Nature, Science Advances, and Nano Letters.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Photonic Forces Group at AMOLF, collaborating with experts in optomechanics, nanophotonics, and materials science. Active in training PhD students and postdocs in cutting-edge nanoscale physics.