Scientific depth.
Industrial perspective.
I connect analytical chemistry, optics and photonics
to develop sensors and complete measurement systems.
01 / TWO PERSPECTIVES. ONE PERSON.
My foundation is analytical chemistry and the physics of measurement: understanding how light behaves, how matter responds and how a sensor turns that interaction into useful information. My experience in industry-near research adds another responsibility — turning that understanding into systems that work within real technical and practical constraints.
At the Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (IABC), Ulm University, my research grew within the Mizaikoff group. My connection as a guest scientist keeps fundamental questions close: how light interacts with matter, how the sample shapes the measurement, and how a result earns scientific confidence.
At Hahn-Schickard in Ulm, an industry-near research institution, that scientific foundation met application needs and industrial partners. As a group leader in Applied Photonics, I worked across system development, technical coordination, teams, laboratory infrastructure and resources.
I do not move between these worlds.
I connect them.
02 / THE CONNECTION
Gas, liquid or solid: the sample determines the route. Targets range from volatile organic compounds and atmospheric gases to mycotoxins in complex matrices.
THE METHODS / A CLOSER LOOK
A measurement is not a detector placed beside a sample. It is a designed route: make the target accessible, let light or a sensor carry its information, integrate the parts, then test whether the result deserves trust.
I work with gaseous, liquid and solid samples. The analytical targets can be volatile organic compounds (VOCs), atmospheric gases or mycotoxins. Sample state, matrix and target concentration determine whether extraction, enrichment, conversion or a direct measurement is appropriate. Preparing the sample is part of designing the result.
Spectroscopy reads the way matter absorbs or otherwise interacts with light. Ultraviolet and visible light (UV–Vis) can probe electronic transitions; near-infrared (NIR) absorption commonly contains overtones and combinations of molecular vibrations; mid-infrared (MIR) absorption reveals fundamental vibrational signatures. I select the spectral region and measurement principle for the information the question needs.
Understanding light propagation, reflection, refraction and optical coupling guides my choices of source, beam path, sample interface and detector. Optics is the physical foundation of my photonic sensor development. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) probes material near an optical interface. Substrate-integrated hollow waveguides (iHWGs) guide light and contain gas samples. iPRECON enriches trace compounds; iCONVERT uses UV-assisted chemical conversion. I combine these functions into the system the application requires.
A decision may be a concentration, a classification or a threshold. Complex real samples can contain strongly overlapping spectral information, while the relevant change is extremely small. Chemometrics — mathematical analysis of chemical data — helps separate useful information from variation. Calibration and validation define what the system can resolve. The aim is the performance needed for the decision, with the greatest practical efficiency.
THE PHYSICAL FOUNDATION
My system decisions begin with the underlying physics. How does light reach the sample? Which interaction carries the information? How can a sensor detect it reliably? Understanding these relationships lets me develop the whole measurement, not just combine components.
Propagation, reflection, refraction and coupling. Optical understanding shapes the beam path, the interaction with the sample and the signal reaching the detector.
Light sources, optical interfaces, waveguides and detectors. I turn light–matter interactions into measurement architectures, from ultraviolet to infrared.
A sensor system connects the physical response with calibration, selectivity and interpretation. Optical and metal oxide sensors offer complementary ways to read a sample.
Electronic transitions
UVElectronic transitions
VisVibrational overtones
and combinations
Fundamental molecular
vibrations
Increasing wavelength → Conceptual regions · not to scale
I helped develop hybrid systems that combine infrared spectroscopy with metal oxide gas sensors (MOX). Infrared absorption and the electrical response of a gas-sensitive material provide different views of the same sample. Combining these complementary principles can improve the information available to the system.
Explore iHWG-MOX · ACS Sensors ↗SELECTED RESEARCH / 2025
A research line from sample enrichment to infrared measurement: muciPRECON combined with FTIR and hollow-waveguide sensing for acetone detection.
Published in Scientific Reports. A laboratory study of acetone–nitrogen mixtures, with sensitivity relevant to future breath-analysis research.
Read the study ↗Maximum reported enrichment factor
Reported limit of detection
03 / WHERE THE SCIENCE TRAVELS
Scroll to explore · or choose a domain
PRECONCENTRATION · MIR · HYBRID SENSORS
Trace concentrations make sampling and enrichment as important as the detector. My research line connects breath VOCs, compact infrared sensing and complementary sensor principles.
iHWG-MOX · ACS Sensors, 2020 ↗THE PROJECTS / PUTTING IT TO WORK
Projects connect the science to a purpose. Each brings a different application, a different set of partners and a different definition of useful.
Flexible mid-infrared solutions for farm-to-fork sensing. The work connected technology assessment, stakeholder and market thinking, and the question of where a photonic system could create value.
CORDIS ↗QCL-MIR spectroscopy, chemical gas sensors, pattern recognition, and sensor fusion show why a diagnostic question rarely belongs to one sensor alone.
CORDIS ↗University and industry contexts connect the work to breath diagnostics, sensor platforms, photonic components, and application partners including Mettler Toledo, Senorics, nanoplus, Laser Components, Alpes Lasers, JLM Innovation, and TE Connectivity.
VOGAS context ↗NATIONAL PROJECTS / INDUSTRIAL COLLABORATION
Alongside European consortia, I have worked on national research projects with industrial partners. That experience brings application requirements directly into technical development: understanding the use case, coordinating interfaces and agreeing what a useful result needs to deliver.
Scientific quality remains the foundation. The application sets the priorities — including integration, available resources and a realistic route to use.
The people and places around the work
Research becomes useful through the institutions, technology companies, application partners and European consortia that bring different constraints to the same technical question.
IABC / University of Ulm
Hahn-Schickard
Photochemical Competence Center (PCC)
Mettler Toledo · Senorics · nanoplus · Laser Components · Alpes Lasers · JLM Innovation · TE Connectivity
Technology selection, use-case development, technical coordination and product-near validation across documented collaborations.PHOTONFOOD · TROPSENSE · VOGAS · European Commission
Project concepts, exploitation thinking, partner coordination and applied photonics connect the research line to wider application contexts.04 / THE RESEARCH RECORD
Original pages. Connected questions. Explore the research line, from compact gas sensing to bioanalytical applications.
05 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK
I am Dr. Vjekoslav Kokoric — an analytical chemist, a sensor scientist and an R&D leader based in Ulm.
I work from the sample backwards: what has to be resolved, which signal can carry that information, and what evidence makes the result trustworthy.
My work at the IABC and Hahn-Schickard has shaped a way of working that is both scientifically curious and application-minded. I want to understand the physical principle in depth, then make clear choices about what the system actually needs. That perspective connects spectroscopy and optical design with sample chemistry, data interpretation and the people developing the solution.
Connect people and competencies. Make resources available. Remove avoidable friction. Create the focus in which technically serious work can move.
Vjekoslav KokoricTHE NEXT CONVERSATION
I bring scientific depth, a strong understanding of optics, photonic and sensor system development, and experience leading applied R&D.
From defining the measurement to connecting the team and resources: let’s talk about what your next system needs.