Raman Workshop

Prof. Dr. Takuji Adachi
external page Adachi Research Group
Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Geneva (Switzerland)

Takuji (Taki) Adachi received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012. He gained a variety of expertise during his postdoc experiences in Germany, New York, and France. Since 2019, he has been a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Geneva. His team develops various in situ optical spectroscopy tools to understand the fundamental mechanisms of morphology formation.

6 June 2025, 11.00-11.45: In Situ Time-Resolved Raman Microspectroscopy to Study One Crystallization at a Time

Prof. Dr. Thomas Bocklitz
external page Photonic Data Science
Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Germany)

Thomas Bocklitz leads the Photonic Data Science department at Leibniz IPHT and holds a professorship at the University of Jena. He specialises in data science and artificial intelligence for spectroscopy and microscopy, with a focus on machine learning and chemometrics for photonic data. Author of over 160 papers, he has received accolades including the Kaiser-Friedrich Research Prize (2018) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (2023) for the STAIN-IT project.

5 June 2025, 09.00-09.45: Combining Vibrational Spectroscopic Techniques With AI Based Data Pipelines to Maximize the Knowledge Extraction

external page Prof. Dr.-Ing. Silke Christiansen
Correlative Microscopy and Materials Data
Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS (Germany)

Silke Christiansen is a Professor of Physics at Freie Universität Berlin and leads the Correlative Analytics and Materials Data department at Fraunhofer IKTS. With over 20 years of expertise in materials science and nanotechnology, she specialises in correlative microscopy, spectroscopy, and nanoarchitectures for energy conversion. Drawing on her extensive experience at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, she is passionate about driving sustainable innovations and pioneering cross-scale analytical solutions to advance Fraunhofer IKTS’s mission.

4 June 2025, 14.15-15.00: Correlative Analytics with Raman Spectroscopy and Imaging: Unlocking Advanced Material and Device Insights

Prof. Dr. Giulio Cerullo
external page Ultrafast Spectroscopy Group
Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano (Italy)

Giulio Cerullo is a Full Professor with the Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, where he leads the Ultrafast Optical Spectroscopy laboratory, and currently a Miller Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley. His research interests include the generation and spectroscopic applications of ultrashort pulses and nonlinear optical microscopy. He has published over 550 papers which have received >34000 citations (H-index: 93 on Scopus). He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the European Physical Society and the Accademia dei Lincei. He has been General Chair of the conferences CLEO/Europe 2017, Ultrafast Phenomena 2018 and the International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy 2024. In 2023, he received the Quantum Electronics Prize of the European Physical Society. He is the co-founder of two spin-off companies (NIREOS and Cambridge Raman Imaging).

6 June 2025, 09.45-10.30: Broadband Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Dr. Maria El Abbassi
external page Chiral Nano
ETH Zurich spin-off

Maria El Abbassi is the Head of R&D at Chiral Nano, an ETH spin-off company active in next-generation electronics powered by nanomaterials. Her work focuses on the development of nanodevices and nanoassembly equipment, contributing to the evolution of the electronics industry. Maria’s expertise lies in materials science and nanotechnology, supporting Chiral’s mission to revolutionise electronic systems.

5 June 2025, 13.30-14.15: Automated Raman Scanning and Analysis for the Production of High Quality Carbon Nanotube Transistors

Dr. Rubén Esteban
external page Theory of Nanophotonics Group
Materials Physics Center (Spain)

Rubén Esteban did his PhD work on the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, receiving his title from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2007. After postdoctoral and fellow positions at Ecole Centrale Paris, CSIC, NIST and Donostia International Physics Center, he is currently a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council CSIC, where he works on nanophotonics and molecular spectroscopy with a focus on the demonstration of quantum effects.

6 June 2025, 09.00-09.45: Collective Effects in Surface Effects Raman Spectroscopy

external page Prof. Dr. Karen Faulds
Bionanotechnology and Analytical Research Section,
Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Technology Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde (UK)

Karen Faulds is a Distinguished Professor specialising in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and Raman techniques for bioanalytical applications. She has published over 200 papers, secured £20M in funding, and holds 7 patents. Her research has earned prestigious awards, including the Charles Mann Award (2019) and the RSC Mid-Career Analytical Award (2021). She serves as an Associate Editor for Analyst and co-Editor-in-Chief of RSC Advances.

5 June 2025, 09.45-10.30: Sensitive and Selective Bioanalysis Using SERS and SESORS

Dr. Harald Fitzek
external page Austrian Centre for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (FELMI ZFE)
Graz University of Technology (Austria)

Harald Fitzek started his work on Raman microscopy in 2014 with his PhD thesis on “Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy” at the Graz University of Technology. After finishing his PhD thesis in 2018, he became a senior scientist at the Graz Centre for Electron microscopy (ZFE), focusing on the correlation of Raman microscopy with all aspects of electron microscopy and simultaneously building up insitu electrochemistry Raman methods for the analysis of energy materials.

6 June 2025, 13.45-14.30: Correlating Raman and Electron Microscopy – Usual and Unusual Applications

Dr. Carsten Flake
Energy and Process Systems Engineering
ETH Zurich

Carsten Flake studied Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Chemical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, where he also earned his Ph.D. for his dissertation on the experimental determination of diffusion coefficients in liquids. In 2021, he joined the newly founded Energy and Process Systems Engineering Group at ETH Zurich, led by Professor André Bardow, where he contributed to establishing experimental laboratories. His research focuses on using Raman spectroscopy to measure thermophysical properties in chemical engineering.

6 June 2025, 14.45-15.30: Raman Spectroscopy Lighting the Way in Chemical Thermodynamics

external page Dr. Angela R. Hight Walker
Fundamental Electrical Measurements Group
National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA)

Dr. Angela R. Hight Walker, a senior scientist at NIST, is renowned for pioneering optical spectroscopies to characterise quantum materials. A current focus area is using optical signatures to study magnetic order. Over three decades, she has led research on low-dimensional materials, contributing nearly 200 publications at the intersection of physics, chemistry, and materials science. A Fellow of APS and AAAS, she also plays a key role in nanotechnology standardisation efforts. Committed to inclusivity, she mentors diverse students and advocates for science accessibility through outreach and leadership in APS’s Committee on the Status of Women in Physics.

4 June 2025, 10.25-11.15: Fundamentals of Raman Spectroscopy (working title)

external page Prof. Dr. Janina Kneipp
Department of Chemistry, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany)

Prof. Dr. Janina Kneipp is a distinguished German scientist and Professor of Physical Chemistry at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her research focuses on surface-enhanced Raman scattering and plasmonic enhancement in multi-modal micro-spectroscopy. Prof. Kneipp has been honoured with several awards, including the Bunsen-Kirchhoff Award for Analytical Spectroscopy in 2010 and the Caroline von Humboldt Professorship in 2019. She is also a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences.

5 June 2025, 11.00-11.45: Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering and the Characterization of Cells and Biophysical Models

Prof. Dr. Juergen Popp
external page Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Germany)

Jürgen Popp, a chemist by training, completed his PhD at the University of Würzburg and postdoctoral work at Yale University. Since 2002, he has held a chair in physical chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and has served as the scientific director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology since 2006. Renowned for his contributions to biophotonics, he has received numerous accolades, including the Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award (2016), an honorary doctorate from the University at Albany (2023), and the Charles Mann Award from FACSS (2023).

5 June 2025, 14.15-15.00: Harnessing Ai-driven Biophotonics for Precision Diagnosis and Therapy

Prof. Dr. Ralph Spolenak
Laboratory for Nanometallurgy
Department of Materials, ETH Zurich

Ralph Spolenak is a Full Professor at ETH Zurich, where he leads the Laboratory for Nanometallurgy. His research focuses on the mechanical and functional properties of materials at the nanoscale, exploring new materials design approaches and in situ testing methods. His group also investigates additive manufacturing at the nanometre scale. Prof. Spolenak serves as member of the management team  of the FIRST lab and ScopeM and Chairman of the Board of MaP, fostering advancements in materials and processes.

4 June 2025, 13.30-14.15: Raman Spectroscopy on Additively Manufactured Nanostructures - From Phase Analysis to SERS

Prof. Dr. Renato Zenobi
Zenobi Group at the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry
Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich

Renato Zenobi is a Professor of Analytical Chemistry at ETH Zurich, renowned for his work in mass spectrometry and his invention of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. He is developing a mass spectrometric "chemical nose" with clinicians at the University Hospital Zurich that could revolutionise medical diagnosis. Awarded numerous fellowships, he received the 2017 ERC Advanced Grant, the 2019 ETH "Golden Owl" for teaching, and the 2023 ACS Award in Spectrochemical Analysis.

4 June 2025, 11.15-12.00: Recent Progress in Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Enantios, an ETHZ Spin-Off founded in December 2022, invited participants on an excursion to their lab at the end of the ETH  Zurich Raman Workshop 2025.

Download Programme download (PDF, 1.2 MB)

6 June 2025

• 16.15-17.00: Travel to Enantios  (Transfer with Enantios team member)
• 17.00-17.15: Flash talk: What is Raman Optical Activity (ROA)?
• 17.15-17.45: Lab Tour and ROA demo
• 17.45-18.00: Q&A session about ROA
• 18.00: Apero and drinks (sponsored by Enantios)

Enantios, an ETHZ Spin-Off founded in December 2022, develops user-friendly Raman optical activity (ROA) instruments and polarisation technologies. ROA enables precise measurement of chiral molecules and structures in biologics, distinguishing enantiomers through unique spectra.

The company's patented ROA instruments, adapted from ETHZ’s solar imaging technology (ZIMPOL), deliver high-sensitivity polarisation imaging with a simplified optical path. For the first time, this powerful technique is accessible beyond specialised ROA labs.