Peter Ertl is currently a senior scientist at the Nano-System-Technologies division of the Austrian Research Centers (ARC).

His research group is developing lab-on-a-chip systems for cell analysis. A particular focus of his research is the investigation of health effects of nanoparticles on living cell populations. In 2003 he successfully cofounded a biotech start-up company named Rapid Laboratory Microsystems, Inc. (www.rapidlabs.com ) in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. RapidLabs was founded to commercialize the technology invented by Dr. Mikkelsen and Dr. Ertl at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Ertl conducted his undergraduate studies at the University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources (BOKU, Vienna, Austria) in the field of food sciences and biotechnology. In 1997 he entered a Ph.D. program in chemistry at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. His Ph.D. dissertation involved the development of an electrochemical biosensor for the rapid identification of microorganisms. After the completion of his Ph.D., he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in collaboration with Clinical Microsensors Inc. (Pasadena, California) on a DNA-biosensor. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley where he developed novel microfluidic systems (µ-TAS).

• Austrian NANO Initiative: Impressions and Experiences from Scientists (July 12, 2007)
• Reverse Culture Shock: Personal Experiences told by an Austrian Scientist Returning from North America (June 29, 2006)