Dr. Detlef-M. Smilgies received a PhD in Physics from the University of Göttingen for work at the Max Planck-Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Germany. He is a former beamline scientist and has worked at synchrotron radiation facilities in Europe and the United States for over 25 years. His interest is in grazing incidence scattering methods for the study of interfaces and thin films of soft materials, including block copolymer nanostructures, nanoparticle superlattices, and materials for organic electronics. Working with interdisciplinary teams of chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and chemical engineers, he popularized the use of GISAXS and GIWAXS for the development of in situ real-time characterization methods for self-assembly processes in organic thin films. Currently, he is a researcher at Binghamton University and an adjunct professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell University.