Rolf Erni

Dr. Rolf Erni is a leading expert in electron microscopy and materials science. Since 2009, he has served as Head of the Electron Microscopy Center at Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) and became a Titular Professor at the Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, in 2022. His research spans atomic-scale characterization techniques, including aberration-corrected TEM, low-voltage electron microscopy, in-situ imaging, and valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy.

• PhD in Materials Science from ETH Zurich (1999-2003)
• Postdoctoral work at UC Davis and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Former faculty at the University of Antwerp's EMAT Institute

Rolf's research bridges fundamental physics of electron scattering with applied studies in nanostructured materials, functional oxides, and energy storage systems. His recent work focuses on operando liquid-phase TEM for battery interfaces, catalysis under reaction conditions, and AI-driven nanoparticle analysis. He has taught advanced microscopy courses at ETH Zurich since 2013, including High Resolution TEM and Diffraction Physics.

Rolf actively contributes to scientific governance through memberships in the Scientific Committee of the Fondation pour la recherche en biologie et médecine, COST Action committees, and review panels for international facilities like ePSIC and KNMF. His methodological innovations include correlative microscopy techniques and multislice simulation models that enhance atomic-scale analysis precision.