Science and Culture, What Belgium Has to Offer - Elmer Zapata-Mercado

I have never been in Europe for more than two weeks, but now I must live like a local Belgian for 10 weeks, and as soon as I landed in Brussels it became clear that I was up for an incredible ride.

After arriving to imec (my workplace for the next couple of months) and was warmly welcomed, it was evident things run differently around here. The biggest “shock” was to see that each office space has its own division/department. Everyone within that division sits in the same place. The purpose of this set-up is to promote crosstalk and collaborations, which brings me to the next point; science. This is in contrast to the usual American way where each lab has its own office, its own niche.

Me in front of the imec building.

When I met my team (notice how I said ‘team’ and not ‘lab’) I was told the project I will be working on. IMEC specializes in the development of technology based on microchips, from biosensors to a lens-less microscope. My team is developing a microscope in a chip, that will not need a lens to visualize the sample. I was put to the task to implement the system on biological samples. This first few weeks was spent researching literature to achieve the assigned task. As any work, it starts slow, between trainings (hey, safety first!) and literature research. So, in the meantime, I decided to explore the city I will be calling home for the Summer, Leuven.

Located just a 20 minute train ride from Brussels, Leuven is a vibrant city about 1/5 the size of Baltimore. Leuven’s main university, the Katolieque Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) is the oldest catholic university in the world dating back to 1425. While exploring the city by bicycle, besides making my quads pretty strong, I was able to immerse in the culture. At first it was hard to figure out where I was going, since everything is in Dutch. A few days in and translating basic words and traffic signs does not seem as hard. The locals appreciate when you try to learn a new word and its pronunciation, they don’t make fun of your broken Dutch, instead they help you.

The City of Leuven as seen from KU Leuven's Library Tower

I also found something connecting not only to my home country of Puerto Rico, but also JHU with Leuven. The main library of KU Leuven hides a rich history that for time’s sake you can read about it here. This made my cerebral amygdalas (because emotions are not processed in the heart) fill with joy and pride. Who would’ve thought?!

Now that you’re probably tired about reading history of Leuven, I will leave Brussels for next time. :)

Tot de volgende keer, mijn vrienden! <- Until next time, my friends! ;)