Leaving Leuven - Hannah Christina Aspinwell

That’s a wrap! With my final presentation over and my exit forms signed, my time at imec has come to an end. Ten weeks sounds like a long time, but it went by in a blink. I didn’t even get through the bottle of dish soap I bought on day one!

I was really impressed by the IRES cohort’s presentations and the great deal of thought and care they poured into their projects. Their work was fascinating and fun to see the context behind what they've been talking about all summer. It’s also clear that they have strong ideas about how they’d continue their project if they had more time.

Last week was a flurry of activity with plenty of data to analyze and slides to make. As is often the case with preparing final presentations, it reveals how much I accomplished and learned, even though there were times I felt my work could have moved faster. My latest results indicate our polymer composition will be suitable for 3D-printing microfluidics if the leeching stop can be optimized. Next year a master’s student will inherit this project and while it’s disappointing that I won’t see the research move forward, I am recording my thoughts and recommendations, such as the chemistries involved in later printing and molding steps, so that future work will be as fruitful as possible.

The experience has taught me to trust myself as a researcher. My time at Hopkins has prepared me well to address many issues and taught me where to look for information when I’m unsure how to proceed. I’m more confident now in my intuition about how to solve unexpected problems.

Me drinking from and petting a duck fountain in Leuven.

This is supposed give you good luckfor coming back to Leuven.

I respect the scientist and engineers at imec tremendously. Not only were they helpful and welcoming, they suggested new avenues of testing that I would not have thought about otherwise. Part of this is their experience in the field, but I also feel that their approach is slightly different, and complementary, to mine because of the way science is taught and practiced here. When Luke, INBT’s Director of Corporate Partnerships who helps facilitate the IRES program, came to visit us, he mentioned that imec management said that Hopkins’ interns always find something unexpected and interesting in their project because of their different perspective. I guess that means the feeling is mutual.

My time here has been wonderful and I am fortunate to have had this experience. I even got to top it off by going for a barefoot walk at Lieteberg with some new Belgian friends and attending a truly delicious food festival here in Leuven this weekend. I want to thank everyone who helps make this program possible and imec for having me. It’s an unforgettable experience, I couldn't be happier with my time here.

Tot ziens!

Posing along the barefoot path in Belgium's Hoge Kempen National Park with the other IRES interns and new Belgian friends.