About

Hi! My name is Stef Smeets, and I'm from the Netherlands.

I’m a software engineer with a passion for data-driven science and scientific instrumentation. Since 2025, I've been working at PalmSens as a Software Engineer, contributing to the quality and accessibility of the software SDKs for our electrochemical instruments.

I hold a BSc and MSc in Chemistry from Utrecht University and a PhD in Materials Science from ETH Zurich. My research focused on structure analysis of polycrystalline materials using a combination of experimental techniques (X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, NMR, and electron microscopy) and Python-based simulations.

I spent several years developing software for automated electron diffraction data collection as a postdoc at Stockholm University and TU Delft. The software I developed is called Instamatic and can be used to orchestrates the interaction between the camera and the microscope to collect diffraction data from thousands of crystals automatically.

Before joining PalmSens, I worked as a senior research software engineer at the Netherlands eScience center in Amsterdam. I contributed to pioneering open source software in a variety of fields in collaboration with academic institutes around the Netherlands. Click here for a sample of the code that I worked on!

I'm a strong advocate for data-driven science and user-focused design. I have a particular interest in scientific data visualization and open-source software. My core skills include Python software development, data analysis, and best practices for developing and delivering robust, maintainable code. You can find my code on Github.

My favourite programming language is Python. I use Arch (btw) with the Niri scrollable-tiling window manager. I code using a custom split mechanical keyboard using a self-designed keyboard layout. My text editor of choice is Zed.

CV

Positions

	2020···Now	Senior Research Software Engineer Netherlands eScience Center, NL
	2019···2020	Postdoctoral Researcher Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, TU Delft, NL
	2016···2018	Postdoctoral Researcher Dept. for Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE
	2011···2015	Research assistant Lab. for Crystallography, ETH Zurich, CH
	2011	Research Intern Lab. for Chemical Crystallography, University of Zaragoza, ES

Awards and fellowships

	2019···2020	Two-year Kavli Postdoctoral Fellowship for the development of novel electron diffraction methods for nanocrystallography
	2018	EPDIC Award for Young Scientists for outstanding scientific achievements in the field of powder diffraction
	2018	One-year SNSF Advanced Postdoc.Mobility fellowship to develop serial electron crystallography
	2017	Swiss Society for Crystallography PhD prize for the best thesis in crystallography
	2017	7th FEZA PhD prize for the highest quality zeolite-related publications
	2016	ETH Medal for outstanding doctoral thesis (top 8%)
	2016···2017	Two-year SNSF Early Postdoc.Mobility fellowship to develop serial electron crystallography

Education

	2015	PhD in Materials Science ETH Zurich, CH Thesis: Development of Hybrid Methods for Solving the Structures of Polycrystalline Materials
	2011	MSc in Chemical Sciences Utrecht University, NL GPA 4.00/4
	2009	BSc in Chemical Sciences Utrecht University, NL GPA 3.05/4
	2004	International Baccalaureate International School Hilversum, NL

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