Dr. Niek Lopes Cardozo

Biography

Niek Lopes Cardozo is a Full Professor in the 'Science & Technology of Nuclear Fusion' at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He has over 40 years of experience in fusion research, having authored more than 100 papers and supervised over 35 PhD theses. He was a leader in the Dutch fusion research program from 2001 to 2009 and has been a member of top-level European fusion governance committees, serving as the vice-chair of the Governing Board of the European Domestic Agency for ITER ‘Fusion Energy’. In 2003, he received the Koninklijke/Shell prize for sustainable development in energy research. Cardozo has played a pivotal role in establishing an interdisciplinary 2-year Fusion Master program at TU/e, which attracts over 25 international students each year. He initiated the European Fusion Education Network, known as FUSENET, which includes over 60 members and works collaboratively with industry on the ITER project. In recent years, his research has focused on the economic prospects of fusion energy, managing the outstanding technical challenges and major advancements in energy technologies. He has held key positions including chairing Dutch Organisation for Fundamental Research on Matter and served on the Executive Board of NWO from 2017 to 2020, overseeing the Science domain that includes multiple scientific disciplines. Cardozo sees fusion energy as possessing phenomenal world-saving potential, albeit with significant challenges for realization, describing it as the perfect challenge for a socially motivated engineer.

Research Interests