Sebastian W. Leser

Materials Science @ EPFL | EPFL Master Excellence Fellow | Swiss Youth in Science | Swiss Study Foundation

Switzerland

About

Experience

  • R&D Intern at POMOCA
    Feb 2026 - Present · 5 mos

    Analyzing adhesion performance of ski touring skins by identifying critical material properties and processing parameters, and studying interactions at the skin–adhesive–ski interfaces.

  • Research Assistant: Laboratory for Materials Simulations at PSI Paul Scherrer Institut
    Sep 2025 - Feb 2026 · 6 mos

    Simulated battery cathode materials using first-principles methods (DFT+U+V) with Quantum ESPRESSO and AiiDA, generating Raman spectra to analyze structural and vibrational behavior, under the supervision of Dr. Iurii Timrov and Prof. Nicola Marzari.

  • Research Assistant: Laboratory of Photovoltaics and Thin-film Electronics at EPFL
    Sep 2025 - Feb 2026 · 6 mos

    Evaluated glass coatings and a flame-retardant polymer encapsulant for Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) applications, assessing their impact on system performance and durability, under the supervision of Prof. Christophe Ballif.

  • EPFL (1 yr 2 mos)
    • Teaching Assistant: Quantum Physics
      Feb 2025 - Jul 2025 · 6 mos

      Teaching assistant for the 2nd year Quantum Physics course in the spring semester 2025 assisting Prof. Alfredo Pasquarello. Weekly exercise classes for students of the course.

    • Teaching Assistant: Continuum Mechanics
      Sep 2024 - Feb 2025 · 6 mos

      Teaching assistant for the 2nd year Continuum Mechanics course in the fall semester 2024 assisting Prof. Jean-Marie Drezet. Weekly exercise classes for students of the course, covering stress and strain tensors, conservation laws and fluid mechanics.

    • Summer in the Lab Research Intern
      Jun 2024 - Aug 2024 · 3 mos

      Under EPFL’s Summer in the Lab internship program, I had the opportunity to investigate the formation of perovskite semiconductors in the Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Optoelectronic Nanomaterials (LIMNO), under the supervision on Prof. Kevin Sivula and Dr. Waygen Thor. Additionally, workshops about leadership and communication were followed as part of the program.

  • Sustainability Advisor at Swiss Solar Boat
    Sep 2024 - Feb 2025 · 6 mos

    Conducting Life Cycle Analysis of the Swiss Solar Boat, a solar and hydrogen powered foiling boat.