Sander Blok

Background

About Sander Blok

Solving high-tech problems, developing new models and guiding others on their path are my main passions. I finished my topmaster programme in nanoscience at the university of Groningen in 2013 and knew I wanted to continue what I was doing for four years. I had spent two years learning about the universe and had done experiments to investigate a tiny part of this universe myself. Every day got me more interested in physics. I gladly accepted the PhD position that I was offered in Leiden. Here I found out that my enthusiasm was not specifically for physics, but for interesting problems in general. When you work in a physics lab, no day is ever dull. There is always equipment that could be improved, mind-boggling data to interpret or a student that needs help with his or her experiment. Everything is a puzzle that needs solving. This mentality has not only allowed me to create entire new theories on electron transport through nanoparticle arrays (see publications), it also lets me communicate my enthusiasm to students or peers, which has won me several awards and helped five undergraduate students to their degrees. To develop the new theories, I not only needed a keen eye for detail and critical thinking, but also a pragmatic approach to experimentally verify them. In order to do so, I worked with various nanofabrication machines, including lithography, metal deposition and chemical synthesis. I then worked together with a various people to decrease the electrical noise floor and fully automize the measurements and data analysis. I'm currently happily employed as a first line support engineer at ASML where I'm enabling the world's newest generation of lithography machines and focus on learning more about semiconductor lithography. I'm always looking to broaden my scope and knowledge and learn more.