Wybren Jan Buma is affiliated to the FELIX Laboratory one day a week through the Molecular Structure & Dynamics group at Radboud University, which forms part of the university's Institute for Molecules and Materials (IMM).

Buma has already been using the FELIX free electron lasers for years as an external researcher. At the Molecular Photonics group of HIMS he uses the interaction between light and molecules to actively control molecules. He also uses molecules as sensitive bio-sensors to study a wide range of chemical, physical and biological processes.

Buma's research at Radboud University will focus on the spectroscopy and dynamics of electronically excited states of photoactive molecules and materials. Advanced laser spectroscopy techniques will be used in this research, and the FELIX lasers offer unique possibilities for opening new research lines. This  joining of (spectroscopic) forces has created a unique expertise area with a direct added value to HIMS and IMM.

Professor Buma (Leiden, 1961) earned a Master’s degree in Experimental Physics (cum laude) and a Master’s degree in Theoretical Chemistry (cum laude) from Leiden University in 1985. He went on to earn his PhD (also cum laude) from the same university in 1989. He has been working at the University of Amsterdam since 1991. Buma is scientific director of the Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC) and programme manager Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy at LaserLab Amsterdam, a cooperation of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam Medical Center, and part of LaserLab Europe.