Professor, Group leader

David Marpaung

Meander room 127, phone: +31 53 489 7925,  david.marpaung@utwente.nl

Curriculum vitae ; Google Scholar ; Linkedin ; Twitter

David Marpaung is a professor leading the Nonlinear Nanophotonics group. He is the co-chairholder of the Laser Physics and Nonlinear Optics chair.

David received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Twente, the Netherlands in 2009. From 2009 to 2012 he was a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Twente, working on microwave photonic system integration for optical beamforming. He joined CUDOS University of Sydney, Australia in August 2012 as a research fellow. From 2015 to 2017 he was a senior research fellow leading the nonlinear integrated microwave photonics research activities in CUDOS University of Sydney.

David was the recipient of the 2015 Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) from the Australian Research Council and the 2017 Vidi award from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

His research interests include RF photonics, photonic integration, nonlinear optics, and phononics.

Secretary

Carla Weber-van der Ploeg

Meander room 125, phone: +31 53 489 4179,  LPNOtnw@utwente.nl

Working hours: Monday Wednesday and Thursday

Carla Weber has been working at the University of Twente since 1993. She started as a secretary at the university in the Supramolecular Chemistry and Technology group of Prof.dr.ir. David N. Reinhoudt. After ten years she switched to the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology where she worked as management assistant for 15 years. Since 2018 she has been working as management assistant of the LPNO group. Besides her work for the LPNO group, she worked as a secretary of the Female Faculty Network Twente at the University of Twente from June 2018 till March 2023. Since prof. Marpaung has been starting his own research group, Nonlinear Nanophotonics, she has been working as management assistant for his group as well.

Senior Researcher

Peter J. M. van der Slot

Peter J. M. van der Slot is a senior researcher in the Nonlinear nanophotonics/Laser Physics and Nonlinear Optics group. Peter received his Ph.D. degree in Applied Physics from the University of Twente, The Netherlands in 1992. From 1992 to 2003 he worked as a senior researcher for Nederlands Centrum voor Laser Research BV working on free-electron and solid-state laser systems. He joined the Laser Physics and Nonlinear Optics group of the faculty Science and Technology in 2003 and continued his research on free-electron lasers, solid-state lasers and moved into nonlinear optics.

Over the years his focus changed from bulk optics to integrated photonics, focusing on hybrid integrated lasers, nonlinear optics in waveguides and the interaction of light and sound.

Technician

Redlef Braamhaar

Redlef Braamhaar is a technician in the Nonlinear nanophotonics/Adaptive Quantum Optics/Integrated Optical Systems group since March 2023. He finished his BSc study at Saxion University of Applied Sciences on an assignment at DEMCON Focal developing tooling software for a hyper-spectral sensing and imaging system. After that, he continued his study at University of Twente and obtained his MSc degree on polarization pulling in stimulated Brillouin scattering in 2023.

His spare time is mostly spent on long reads and long-winded political tracts. He enjoys the occasional book containing turgid political economy too.

Postdoc

Akhileshwar Mishra

Akhileshwar Mishra joined the group as a postdoctoral researcher in 2022. He earned both his Master’s and PhD degrees from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram, where he specialized in nonlinear optics. His major research interests are nonlinear optical phenomena of microresonators, microwave photonics and high purity lasers.

Postdoc

Steven Kaixuan Ye

Steven Kaixuan Ye is currently a postdoctoral researcher, having started the position in 2025. Prior to this, he joined the group as a PhD student in 2021. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Microelectronic Science and Engineering (2019) and a Master’s degree in Electronic and Communication Engineering (2021) from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST).

His research interests include stimulated Brillouin scattering in silicon waveguide and integrated microwave photonics.

Postdoc

Kees Franken

Kees Franken joined NLNP as a Post Doc in September 2025. He completed his PhD in Applied Physics at the University of Twente earlier in 2025. During his PhD he worked on coherent integrated light sources using various photonic platforms. As part of his PhD, he visited Harvard University (2022-2024) to investigate and fabricate integrated lasers and nonlinear conversion devices in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN). Currently he is co-developing TFLN photonics in the group.

Ph. D. Student

Zheng Zheng

Zheng Zheng joined the group as a PhD student in October 2022. Her master thesis is focused on building a program to analyze multi-channel microresonators on sensing application. She received her master degree in Nanotechnology from the University of Twente, and double-bachelor degree in Opto-electronic science and technology from Tianjin University and Finance from Nankai Univerisity.

Ph. D. Student

Akshay Keloth

Akshay Keloth joined the group as a PhD student in November 2022. He completed Integrated Masters in Photonics from Cochin University of Science and Technology in 2018. His master thesis was on ‘Studies on optical and structural properties of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures grown by vapour phase transport’. From 2019, he worked as Project Associate at Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His research interest include Silicon and Silicon nitride Photonic IC for sensing and quantum applications.

Ph. D. Student

Chuangchuang Wei

Chuangchuang Wei joined the group as a PhD student in 2023. He received the bachelor degree in Electronic Science and Technology from Nankai University in 2020. He is a third-year MSc student at the Institute of Semiconductor, Chinese Academy of Science, majoring in microwave photonics. His research interests focus on the 3D integrated microwave photonics and the fabrication of ultra-low loss microring resonators.

Ph. D. Student

Ahmet Tarık Işık

Ahmet Tarık Işık joined the group as a PhD student in 2023. He received the bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University in 2020. He completed his MSc studies in the same department. In his master thesis, he focuses on light-emitting nanophotonic devices.

Ph. D. Student

Randy te Morsche

Randy te Morsche started his PhD in 2024 to investigate the control of coupled ring resonators. He holds both Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Applied Physics from the University of Twente. During his Bachelor’s (2021), he worked in the LPNO group on the simulation of nonlinear optical pulse propagation for supercontinuum generation. Later, for his Master’s assignment in 2023, he worked on Brillouin photonics in ring resonators.

In his spare time, he likes to play games, listen to music, and learn about astronomy and physics.

Ph. D. Student

Nidha Mariyam

Nidha Mariyam joined the group as a PhD student in 2024. She received her master’s degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER). Her master’s thesis was on ‘Functional Oxide Inverse Opal Photonic Crystal Fabrication for Optical Sensing Applications’.

Ph. D. Student

Abhiram Chathoth Damodaran

Abhiram Chathoth Damodaran joined the group as a PhD student in September 2024. He completed his Integrated Master’s in Photonics from Cochin University of Science and Technology in 2023. His master’s thesis focused on the theoretical study of lasers under weak optical injection at ENSSAT, France. Abhiram will be working on the MAWI project at LioniX International, with Chris Roeloffzen and in collaboration with our group. His research focuses on developing ultra-low linewidth visible-range lasers using Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) for matter wave interferometry and quantum communication applications

Master Student

Jeroen Klinkhamer

Jeroen Klinkhamer joined the group as a Master student. He did his Bachelor in Applied Physics at the University of Twente 2024. His Bachelor thesis was on hybrid integrated ultranarrow linewidth lasers which was a collaboration between the Integrated Optical Systems group of the University of Twente and LioniX International. During his studies he has been working part time at LioniX International as a test engineer for two years. His current research is into stimulated Brillouin lasing in silicon nitride photonic molecules.

Master Student

Jitse Boonstra

Jitse Boonstra is a master Applied Physics student in the NLNP group investigating parametric light sources in photonic molecules. He recently came back to the group after doing an internship at the University of Sydney, where he worked on Brillouin-based comb teeth extraction in chalcogenide glasses. In 2023 he graduated from his bachelor in Applied Physics with a thesis project on programmable photonics in the NLNP group.