Prof. Jens KREISEL

Prof. Jens Kreisel took office as rector of the University of Luxembourg on 1 January 2023.

Jens Kreisel, born in 1969, studied physics and materials sciences in Karlsruhe (D), Lyon (F) and Grenoble (F) and obtained in 1999 his PhD in materials physics at the Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP).

After a post-doc at the University of Oxford, he continued his international career in Grenoble where he was until 2011 Director of Research at CNRS, the French National Centre for Scientific Research.

From 2006 to 2011, he also acted as advisor to the President and then as Deputy Vice-President for International Relations in the senior management team of Grenoble INP. From these two mandates, he has acquired extensive knowledge about different international university and research systems and has developed a personal enthusiasm for internationalisation.

During a sabbatical year from 2011 to 2012, he was a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies of Warwick University in the UK.

In 2012, Jens Kreisel joined Luxembourg and became the Founding Director of the Materials Research and Technology department at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). Only a year later, he received a 5 million euros Excellence Award for Research in Luxembourg (PEARL) by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

In September 2018, he was appointed vice-rector for research at the University of Luxembourg and Full Professor in Physics and Materials Science. A fervent advocate of interdisciplinary research, Prof. Kreisel has founded the Institute of Advances Studies at the University of Luxembourg. He has been one of the main architects of both the Strategy framework and the current Four-Year-Plan of the University.

His research focuses on the understanding of structural and physical properties of functional materials and he is internationally recognised for his expertise in optical spectroscopy. Jens Kreisel is the author of more than 150 publications, has acquired substantial experience in the management of universities as well as research institutions and is also a passionate teacher and mentor. As rector he sees his responsibility in facilitating and stimulating top science, high-quality teaching and trusted partnership with the society at large.

Jens Kreisel was born in Dortmund, Germany, and is fluent in German, French and English. He has been in Luxembourg with his family for more than ten years and has an in-depth knowledge of the Luxembourg and international research landscape.