"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." - Manfred Eigen

Ron de Bruijn is a Doctoral Candidate in the Control Systems Technology (CST) - Mechatronic Systems Design (MSD) research group at the Mechanical Engineering department of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). His research focuses on accurate and high performance mechanics, mechatronic systems and design principles for precision engineering. The project de Bruijn is involved in is the “Advanced piezo-electric wafer stage for lithography and metrology”, a collaboration between the TU/e High Tech Systems Center (HTSC) and ASML. The main goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of an ultra-short stroke wafer stage using lightweight and compact piezo-electric actuators. de Bruijn is focusing on the mechatronic system architecture and design of the piezo-electric wafer stage.

Ron de Bruijn received both, his BSc (Magna Cum Laude) and MSc (Summa Cum Laude) in electromechanical engineering technology from the KU Leuven University, Geel campus in Belgium. During his master graduation project “Cost Effective Design of the Pellicle Hardware” in collaboration with ASML, de Bruijn developed new, more cost effective hardware to connect the pellicle on the reticle. This novel design resulted in a patent publication and his thesis has been rewarded as best MSc thesis in Electromechanical Engineering Technology.