Arjan den Dekker's Research Page

My research interests cover the wide area of (model-based) statistical signal processing, including estimation, inference, detection and experimental design, with applications in various fields of physics.

Ongoing research efforts are spent in the area of model-based quantitative electron microscopy, where the aim is to extract (nano)structure information, such as atom positions, with ultra-high precision. This goal is pursued by developing optimal model-based measurement methods and by optimizing the experimental design. Research activities in this field include the development of models that capture the physical phenomena governing the behavior and performance of the electron microscope and its constituting subsystems and the use of these models to transform the traditional microscope from a qualitative imaging instrument into a flexible quantitative nano-measurement tool, allowing automated procedures for calibrated, reproducible measurements. As a consultant for the Scripps Research Institute, I am also involved in in the field of single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM).

A second line of ongoing research is in the area of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is a technique for measuring brain activity. The aim of our research efforts in this area is the development of advanced statistical tests that improve the reliability of fMRI based brain activity detection.

A recent additional research interest of mine is model validation and uncertainty bounding in prediction error system identification.

On-going projects

Project	Project members	Project partners
Integrated modeling and model-based auto-tuning of electron microscope systems (part of CONDOR project) The Condor project is a joint endeavor of a consortium of industrial and academic partners with the Embedded Systems Institute having the Project Management responsibility. The carrying industrial partner is FEI Company Funding: SenterNovem/BSIK	dr. A. (Arturo) Tejada Ruiz (postdoc) dr.ir. A.J. (Arjan) den Dekker prof. dr.ir. P.M.J. (Paul) Van den Hof	Embedded Systems Institute FEI Company KU Leuven TU Eindhoven University of Antwerp Technolution B.V. Gouda
Transmission electron microscopy beyond the limits of imaging Funding: FWO	A. De Backer (PhD student) prof. dr. S. (Sandra) Van Aert (promotor) dr.ir. A.J. (Arjan) den Dekker (co-promotor)	Centre for Electron Microscopy and Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp
Adaptive State Estimation and Control of a Hopper Dredger	P.M. Stano (Phd student) prof. dr. R. Babuška, dr. Zs. Lendek dr.ir. A.J. (Arjan) den Dekker	IHC Systems B.V.

Ongoing MSc projects under my (co-)supervision:

• Omid Najibpour
  Analysis and Implementation of an Optical Aberration Sensor for the Closed-loop Control of Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopes
• Michel van Aggelen
  Optimal experiment design for hypothesis testing applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging
  

Ongoing BSc projects under my (co-)supervision:

• ...
  

completed BSc and MSc projects under my (co-)supervision

Research Partners

• Vision Lab, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
• Centre for Electron Microscopy and Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Belgium
• Bioprocess Technology group, Kluyver Laboratory for Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology
• Quantitative Imaging Group, Department Imaging Science & Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology
• Embedded Systems Institute
• FEI Company
• Automated Molecular Imaging Group, Dept. of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute,  La Jolla, California, USA.
• Philips Consumer Lifestyle, Eindhoven.
• Shell International E&P, Exploratory Research.
• Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, National University of Colombia, Manizales, Colombia

KNIGHT Club

All MSc students, PhD students and Postdocs directly working with Arjan den Dekker and Xavier Bombois are members ("knights") of the KNIGHT Club. The acronym KNIGHT stands for “KNowledge Is Gained Hanging Together”. The KNIGHT Club has round table meetings on a regular basis. These meetings take about two hours. The goal of the round table meetings is to provide all knights with the opportunity to discuss their research with fellow-knights, report progress, share research problems, exchange views and experience, and build collaborative efforts.

Meeting Schedule KNIGHT Club

B.Sc. and M.Sc. thesis proposals