Feature articles
A wealth of chemical possibilities for new batteries
The ultimate battery is sustainable, affordable, recyclable, and contains as few critical materials as possible. And, ideally, it should be manufactured in Europe. Researchers have their work cut out. ‘In principle, there are countless elements in the periodic table that can be used to make a battery.’
‘I want to use technology to create sensations that we as humans need’
Danqing Liu employs her broad expertise to develop materials that allow a more varied sensory experience. ’Using our sense of touch is becoming more and more important in our digital world.’
You can’t stop the rain – but you can control your response
Worry is a constant companion in early academic careers – about rejections, supervisors, career development, and much more. Isabelle Kohler offers help by introducing a simple but powerful distinction: the difference between what you can control and what you can’t.
UnWastor takes on mountain of waste
Landfill or incineration. That’s what often happens to discarded plastics these days. But the startup UPPACT in Delfzijl sees greater value in recycling. To do this, they use an ingenious machine from Australia. They’re already turning the mixture into useful boards and sheets. As far as they’re concerned, these UnWastors ...
International at heart
From Poland to Austria to the UK to the Netherlands. PhD student Jadwiga Poniatowska has moved country multiple times since the age of seventeen, and has thoroughly enjoyed the international environments in which she has studied. ‘You can gain a lot from happily working together.’
Podium: Joice Kaschuk
Our members form the beating heart of our societies. Here, we regularly highlight one of them. This time, it’s KNCV-member Joice Kaschuk.
Your weekend is not a luxury – protect it
Working through the weekend seems to be treated as a badge of honour in academia. Isabelle Kohler argues that protecting your weekends is not a sign of weakness or lack of ambition – it is one of the most important decisions you can make for your long-term career and well-being.
You’re not supposed to know everything
Every early-career researcher knows the dread of standing on the podium: what if someone asks a question they can’t answer? Isabelle Kohler argues that this discomfort is the very essence of research – and that learning to cope with uncertainty might be the most important skill a PhD student can develop.
From hobby project to high-quality tool
With 3D printers, you can create advanced, custom-made equipment at an affordable price. This is not only achieved by printing parts and components entirely to your own specifications, but also by converting the printer itself into a lab robot. ‘In the past, researchers used to build the equipment for their experiments themselves.’
Tires’ silent killer: The toxic dust that kills salmon
Each year, Europe’s roads produce approximately half a billion kilograms of ‘tyre wear dust’, releasing a large amount of 6PPD-Q into the environment. This substance, a by-product of a common tyre additive, has been found to be lethal to coho salmon. A case is underway in the US to enforce a ban, with the Dutch RIVM and the Austrian UBA working towards a ban in the EU.
Gentle transfection
Introducing large molecules into a cell can be done using brute force, but this often causes damage to the cell. The Ghent-based start-up Trince focuses on photoporation, a unique transfection method that not only leaves cells in good health but is also suitable for high-throughput applications.
Safety
The safety culture in academic laboratories differs greatly from that in industry. Sjoerd Rijpkema, former safety steward and Meme & Molecule columnist, identifies a fundamental problem.
Au-delà de la lentille
Les techniques de microscopie à super-résolution repoussent les limites fondamentales imposées par les lentilles optiques. À la TU Delft, Carlas Smith étudie où se situe réellement cette limite inférieure, avec pour objectif de la déplacer encore.
The scaffolding is the new career ladder
What if choosing the ‘wrong’ career path wasn’t really possible? Isabelle Kohler replaces the old metaphor of the career ladder with something more honest: a scaffolding, multidirectional and open-ended – and a space to explore for early-career researchers.
Un nouveau graduat comble le manque de profils en laboratoire
Trois hautes écoles flamandes ont uni leurs forces pour lancer un nouveau graduat destiné aux assistants de laboratoire. La formation en assistance de laboratoire s’appuie sur les anciens graduats en biotechnologie et en chimie. Le programme a été actualisé et renommé afin de mieux correspondre aux réalités du terrain. « ...
Endosser deux rôles
Pour Filip Van Lijsebetten (29 ans), le passage était presque naturel : durant son doctorat, il s’est senti de plus en plus attiré par le rôle d’agent de brevets. « Parfois, il s’agit d’inventions pour des boîtes à gâteaux, parfois pour du papier toilette. »
Du projet amateur à l’outil de haute précision
Les imprimantes 3D permettent de concevoir des équipements avancés et sur mesure à un coût accessible. Cette approche englobe aussi bien l’impression de composants spécifiques que la transformation de l’imprimante elle-même en robot de laboratoire. « Autrefois, les chercheurs construisaient eux-mêmes les dispositifs nécessaires à leurs expériences. »
Transfection en douceur
Introduire de grosses molécules dans une cellule peut se faire de manière brutale, mais cela endommage souvent la cellule. La start-up gantoise Trince mise sur la photoporation, une méthode de transfection unique qui préserve la santé des cellules tout en étant adaptée aux applications de criblage à haut débit.
Podium : Hannes Sels
Nos membres donnent couleur et sens à la chimie et aux sciences de la vie. Mais qui sont-ils ? Cette fois, nous vous présentons Hannes Sels, coordinateur de la recherche « Industrie circulaire » à la Karel de Grote Hogeschool.
« L’industrie ne peut se passer de véritables chimistes analytiques »
Pour faire face à la pénurie de chimistes analytiques, les entreprises misent notamment sur l’automatisation. « C’est l’évolution la plus marquante de notre discipline », explique Gert Desmet, expert en chromatographie. « Et elle rendra le métier de chimiste analytique plus attractif. »
