Light is fascinating. I enjoy harnessing the endless potential of light in ways that can improve our everyday lives. 

The Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics (PSN) research group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has developed integrated spectral sensors based on a nanophotonic platform. These sensors use near-infrared light to quantify and classify material properties. Designed and fabricated in-house, these sensors can be tailored to specific applications. 

As a postdoctoral researcher in the PhotonDelta NIRsens_health project, Philip Jacob is exploring use cases in which the integrated spectral sensor can measure novel physiological parameters from surface measurements on human skin, beginning with skin hydration.

After completing his master's degree at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2019, Philip Jacob joined the Laboratory of Attosecond Physics, led by Ferenc Krausz, at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics near Munich, Germany, as a doctoral candidate. There, he developed a femtosecond laser-based infrared spectrometer for blood-based disease detection. After receiving his Ph.D. from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 2024, Jacob remained in the group as a postdoc for a year and a half until his move to Eindhoven in November 2025. He currently works in the Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics (PSN) group in the department of Applied Physics and Science Education at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the team led by Andrea Fiore as a postdoctoral researcher specializing in wearable optical sensing technology.