Broer has agreed with the TU/e Executive Board that he will continue his work at the university for at least five more years, as the former head of the Functional Organic Materials and Devices group (Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry) informs us. “Together with Bert Meijer I am also involved in a TOP-PUNT project of NWO, so the extension of my stay was already certain.”

Over the past few years Broer gradually transferred his responsibilities as group head to his successor Albert Schenning. This means he can devote more time to his research projects: “As a result, I can involve myself with the students and PhD candidates in this project more than I could before, and I even have the opportunity to go into the lab again – perhaps to the alarm of the students.”

Broer intends to use the ERC Advanced Grant for designing materials that make oscillating movements under the influence of light or heat. On the basis of liquid crystals – materials whose properties position them between solid substances and liquids and which are known especially from LCD screens – he wants to make a coating in which minuscule oscillating ribs are generated when they are exposed to light or put under electric tension. This would make it possible for instance to clear sand from solar panels after a sand storm. “Then again, you could also use these materials for a touch screen that gives mechanical feedback to your fingers”, says Broer. “Or as a braille display for visually disabled persons.” In addition, the emeritus professor wants to apply self-oscillating materials in membranes for the separation of gases.

What makes Broer’s approach special is that the frequency of oscillation is determined by the properties of the material, not by the frequency of the stimulus. This makes it possible for the researchers to generate oscillations by means of a continuous energy source, such as sunlight.