Katana VentraIP

Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium

The Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (English translation: Philips Physics Laboratory) or NatLab was the Dutch section of the Philips research department, which did research for the product divisions of that company.

In 1975, the NatLab employed some 2000 people, including 600 researchers with university degrees. Research done at the NatLab has ranged from product-specific to fundamental research into electronics, physics and chemistry, as well as computing science and information technology.


The original NatLab facility was disbanded in 2001 and the facility has been transformed into the commercial High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which is open to researchers from many different companies. Philips Research is after many reorganizations one of the smaller tenants. Philips Research also had branches in Germany, the United Kingdom, United States, India and China.


Originally located in the Strijp district of Eindhoven, the facility moved to Waalre in the early 1960s. A 1972 municipal rezoning brought the facility back into Eindhoven, which was followed some years later by Eindhoven renaming the street the facility is on into the Prof. Holstlaan, after the first director.[1]

1976 US National Academy of Engineering Membership - Leadership in research and development of electron tubes, solid-state devices, glass and metal products

Hendrik Casimir

2003 US National Academy of Engineering Membership - For pioneering and advancing the era of digital audio, video, and data recording

Kees Schouhamer Immink

1970 US National Academy of Sciences Membership -

Hendrik Casimir

1935 IEEE Medal of Honor - For his fundamental studies and contributions in the field of circuit theory and electromagnetic wave propagation phenomena

Balthasar van der Pol

2017 IEEE Medal of Honor - For pioneering contributions to video, audio, and data recording technology, including compact disc, DVD, and Blu-ray

Kees Schouhamer Immink

1973 IEEE Edison Medal - For a creative career of significant achievement in electrical circuit theory, including the gyrator

Bernard D. H. Tellegen

1999 IEEE Edison Medal - For a career of creative contributions to the technologies of digital video, audio, and data recording

Kees Schouhamer Immink

2003 Personal Emmy Award - For coding technology for optical recording formats

Kees Schouhamer Immink

Inventing Structures for Industrial Research, thesis by F. Kees Boersma on the founding and history of the NatLab up to 1946.

site for the book 80 years of research at the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium 1914-1994 by Marc J. de Vries and F. Kees Boersma, commissioned by Philips Research, supervised by the Stichting Historie der Techniek.

Geschiedenis Philips Nat.Lab. vastgelegd

K. Boersma and M. de Vries

De veranderende rol van het Natuurkundig Laboratorium in het Philips-concern gedurende de periode 1914-1994

Delta (universiteitsblad TU Delft), S. Priester, February 2006.

Opkomst en neergang van een legendarisch lab

TELEAC Film (25 min.), April 2009

Wetenschap in uitvoering, Het NatLab in Eindhoven

Hans B. Peek, "The emergence of the Compact Disc", IEEE Communications Magazine, January 2010, pp. 10–17.

Hans Peek, Jan Bergmans, Jos van Haaren, Frank Toolenaar and Sorin Stan," Origins and Successors of the Compact Disc", Springer, 2009, Philips Research Book Series, Vol. 11, Chapters 2 and 3.

IEEE CD Milestone, IEEEE Global History Network.

Philips Research

NatLab history