Dr. Robert J. Visser is vice president of engineering technology in the Office of the CTO at Applied Materials, Inc., where he leads business and engineering initiatives in emerging markets, including advanced displays, packaging technologies, and photonic components for augmented reality, flat optics, and quantum computing. With more than four decades of industry experience, he has been a driving force behind key technology inflections and has played a central role in advancing flat panel display manufacturing. Over the course of his career, Dr. Visser has delivered innovations across photolithography, plasma physics, and organic electronics, helping shape Applied Materials’ technology leadership in these areas. He currently leads the company’s quantum technology activities, applying advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities to improve devise performance for customers in quantum computing, sensing, and communications. In 2020, Dr. Visser was recognized as a Fellow of the Society for Information Display for his pioneering contributions to thin-film encapsulation technologies for OLED and flexibly displays. He brings deep technical insight and strategic perspective to the broader innovation ecosystem, serving in an advisory role at the Applied Materials Center or Excellence in Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and as a member of the Board of the Materials Research Society (2026-2027). Dr. Visser holds Master’s and PhD degrees in theoretical and physical organic chemistry from Leiden University in the Netherlands. He is the inventor or co-inventor on 128 granted patents and has authored 78 journal and conference publications.