iGEM is an annual competition in synthetic biology. The participants are invited to develop a full-fledged project from scratch in under nine months. In 2022 the team of Leiden, under my guidance, created a biological platform for the production of nanoparticles for a cancer therapy. Throughout our project, we attracted the main focus on the accessibility of science communication, for which we received several awards.

The innovation challenge aimed at developing a demonstration model that would showcase the principles of Industry 4.0 – a conceptual framework for the biotechnological factories of the future. For this purpose my team built an autonomous Arduino-powered and smartphone-operated lemonade machine.

Biomineralised bacterial cellulose is a novel bio-based material that has been developed at the Bionanoscience department at the TU Delft. Its elegant three-step production process utilises three different bacterial strains to create a tough material that is similar to ABS (Think: Lego). The primary bottlenecks in its application are its consistency and water-absorbing properties. I dedicated my thesis to explore ways in which these two aspects could be mitigated.

TERTIUS COLLECTION is an Amsterdam gallery, which propagates the philosophy of cross-collecting. Their curation showcases arts and crafts across centuries and styles: from Dutch old masters to Dalí furniture. As part of their team, I was tasked with creating a tangible and recognisable identity, as well as a series of websites, for this eclectic collection.

As part of my Honours Programme, I participated in the newly formed Awareness & Culture track. The main objective of this track is to improve the ability of engineers to appreciate the context of the problem they are trying to solve from a more socially-aware perspective. The participants were offered a unique opportunity to reflect on how their personal and professional aspirations can be placed in a societal context.

Started as an endeavour of a romantic nature, the photographic medium offered me a space to experiment with space, colour, and meaning. As it progressed, the connection between the initial photograph and the final edit became less evident, with more emotion channelled through the retouching process. My biggest joy is the endless space for experimentation.