Weekend trips offer breaks from research

Today's blog post comes from Rustin Golnabi,  a junior at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. 

It’s already been about three weeks since I’ve arrived in Belgium. I should have started writing blog posts sooner, but with all the excitement of the new environment, trips every weekend, and just getting settled overall, it’s taken a while to be able to put aside time to write about my experiences. Hopefully this will be the first and only time I have such a delay in writing this!

The first week I got here was hectic. From the airport, Eugene, Matt, and I had to figure out the technicalities on the first day, mostly without a bike (which I have learned by now is absolutely necessary!). Then I went in for orientation on Tuesday, and were to start work that afternoon and continue on Wednesday. It turned out (as our luck would have it) Thursday and Friday were holidays, so my supervisor, Pieter, told me to just hang out and read papers until the next week began. That week, we also met a couple more Americans, here by NSF funding, who were planning a trip to Amsterdam that weekend. So the four of us (Polly, Eugene, Matt and I) joined! It was rather expensive because of the last minute booking and heavily touristic nature of Amsterdam, but definitely a nice first trip!

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam was beautiful. It seemed the only methods of transportation were by bike or tram. That, combined with the canals running through the city, made for very few cars and gorgeous scenery. To be honest, I don’t think I met a single native Dutch person there (because of the huge number of tourists), which disappointed me, but nevertheless, I had a great time, and I’m glad I got to see the city.

The next week, my work began to take off at imec. I was assigned to become familiar with the waveguide setup and begin characterizing a set of devices. While I have a slight background in photonics research, I can’t say I know too much about the subject, so I spent a lot of time trying to understand the concepts and what it was I was actually doing. I felt like I was thrown into a completely unfamiliar realm, but the people here understood that and worked with me.

The rest of that week, I just became more familiar with imec and the environment, and explored Leuven a bit. The town is gorgeous. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is I love about it, whether it is the incredible architecture, charming streets, access to everything you may need, or just friendly environment.

Anyways, that weekend I decided to go to Prague, where I would meet up with my cousins who were also travelling that week.

Prague

Prague

Prague was incredible, and I had so much fun with my cousins. We visited all the key spots, like the clock tower, the Charles Bridge, and the Jewish Cemetery. I met some awesome people on the plane ride there, an American couple with a baby who were in Brussels for a year on a work exchange. We happened to run into each other a couple times in Prague itself, then even ended up sitting next to each other on the flight back! It was an amazing coincidence, but I was so happy it happened.

Later, they offered to drive me into Brussels that Monday to explore, and I did. That Monday was another Belgian holiday, so I got lost in Brussels for the day, met a really great Moroccan tea shop owner, a friendly Museum administrator who helped me decide on my activities for the day, and I finally got the best Belgian Waffle I’ve had. Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve gone a day without eating either chocolate or waffles (or both), and I have absolutely no regrets about that. I mean, there is a reason for their notoriety in Belgium. :)

The week following my adventures in Prague (and Brussels), my supervisor Pieter was in California for a conference, so it was a bit difficult finding what to do to keep myself occupied. The head of our group was hardly in his office that week, so I continued to read, familiarize myself with another set of programs I was to be working with, and eventually begin to take measurements on a new set of devices. The week was largely uneventful, but it was some much-needed time to relax in my apartment.

Belgian Chocolate

Belgian Waffles

At the end of that week, I decided to visit Brussels on Saturday, and Brugge on Sunday. I stayed in a hostel in Brussels Saturday night, mostly to get a chance to meet more people, but also because of the low cost. I did the free walking tour of Brussels on Saturday, which taught me some more about what it was I was seeing and showed me some beautiful sights in Brussels. I really do love the city; it’s terribly underrated. 

I would recommend to anyone visiting the area to make a stop in Brussels. I also visited the Atomium that night, which was pretty cool! I knew not to expect too much, but I felt that I had to see it, especially since I had just finished a year of learning about unit cell structures like this one (body-centered cubic!). The inside was just a simple exhibit with a restaurant in the top “atom”. 

It was of course too expensive for me to eat at, so I went back into Brussels for dinner that night. The next day, I took a tour of Brugge. I met some amazing people on the tour and train ride there, who I’m excited to keep in touch with in the future. I think that honestly 90% of travelling to me is meeting new, interesting people, and for that this trip was the best so far. Brugge is a beautiful little town; it’s one of the most well-preserved cities of medieval times. It was worth a day trip, but that was probably enough to see it all.

Atomium

Brussels

After all this sightseeing, I don’t want to stop! This weekend, I’m going to Cologne, Germany, and next I think I’ll head to Antwerp and Ghent (two cities in Flanders).

I’ve been focusing a lot on the travelling I’ve done, but the reason I’m here is to learn at one of the premier research consortiums in the world. You can really tell why imec has the reputation it has once you get here. The cleanrooms are first class, and some of the most intense research happens within this building. The work environment is definitely pretty contrasting with that of the US, though.

Brugges

Rustin Golnabi

People tend to take full hour lunch breaks, come in whenever they want, and leave whenever they want, and just hang out and take coffee breaks in between as well. It makes for a really relaxed working environment, where you don’t at all feel stressed. Despite all this, however, the work is results-based, so everyone actually gets a lot done. Belgium is one of the most productive countries in the world, actually! It’s pretty cool to know that despite the lack of pressure put on the scientists, everyone is always busy and getting something done.

My work, specifically, hasn’t really taken off too much because the setup my group had planned for me to work on this summer wasn’t ready in time. In fact, it should probably be ready next week. For now, they have me characterizing some existing devices on a large wafer, not only to familiarize myself, but also to add to the results they are collecting from this set of “test” waveguides and resonators. I like the work, though it can be frustrating, and I find it interesting. It may not have been my ideal topic of research for this summer, but I can already tell that I am learning a lot, and from one of the best places in the world to learn!

Leuven

 All photos by Rustin Golnabi.

Levuen

Diversity rules at IMEC

Today's blog post from Belgium comes from Matthew Gonzalez, a senior in Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

My first two weeks are coming to an end here in Belgium. I’m finally starting to settle into Leuven and beginning real work at IMEC.

Leuven is a wonderful, little college town with quite of bit of entertainment. The Wisteria, the apartments we are all staying at is a short bike ride—only 15 minutes—from the town center where most of the action happens. There are plenty of little restaurants to grab dinner at and the Oude Markt, or Old Market, is the place to be on the weekend nights.

Night out at Oude Markt

Our Hopkins group got dinner and went to a few bars afterwards with some of the people we work with. Despite us being about 5 years younger, they were all very nice and friendly, inviting us along to make us feel welcome. The group we went with was made up with people from Spain, Italy and other countries beside the native Belgians.

IMEC is a very diverse place pulling in researchers from all over the world. I find myself trying to guess what someone’s accent will sound like before they open their mouth. Everyone speaks English, but each with a unique accent...everyone can instantly tell I’m an American after a few words. The nice thing is people actually like us Americans—I don’t think I’d be saying the same if I was in Paris!

IMEC itself is incredible. It reminds me of a big corporate lab from a movie that James Bond would break into. I will not be working in the huge cleanrooms, one of the most mentionable features of IMEC. This may be a good thing though because I’ve heard how obnoxious suiting up is. I still work in a clean environment in an argon atmosphere glove box, otherwise the lithium we use as the electrodes in the battery tests would ignite...which is never a good thing.

My project is the development and testing of batteries. Now I’ve never had any experience with batteries in my past research, which focused on controlled synthesis of nanoparticles. Although I will take some of the nanoparticles I’ve synthesized and use them as electrode materials, I first need to get the methods down. The general idea is coat a wafer in nanoparticle based thin film to create ultra-thin battery materials.

Leuven architecture

I’m almost finished with my first set of experiments—running tests on six pre-fabricated samples—and will learn the analysis process in the coming weeks so that I can become more independent and begin work on some novel experiments. Everyone in my group is very friendly and more than willing to help and teach me what they know. I still haven’t met the PhD student I will most closely be working with since he is on holiday (or on vacation for us Americans), but I’ll hopefully have a good grasp on the techniques and methods when he comes back.

I’m very excited to start research in a new field and learn all I can while I’m here…though I’m sure there will be plenty of fun to be had as well!

First days in Leuven: apartments, shopping, transportation and labs

The 2014 Summer at IMEC group is already hard at work and we have our first blog post from Polly Ma from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Read on.

My apartment in Leuven.

"It's been a week since I've arrived at Leuven, and I've finally started to learn the ins and outs of the town. For one, all shops and stores close extremely early and aren't open on Sundays either. There's no such thing here as a 2 a.m. stop at Subway to satisfy those late night cravings. Leuven is also the epitome of a college town, and the people here are generally on the younger side and very friendly. There hasn't been much of a language barrier at all, since most people in this city can speak English and are willing to pause and help the struggling lost American in the middle of the street. Also, in general, people in Leuven bike to get everywhere. The bus is also quite convenient, but at 2 euros a ride, it can get expensive. For people who do drive, all of their cars are much smaller than those in America. Speaking of smaller, portion sizes are also much smaller in Europe in general. The "regular" or medium size here is what we call a "small" in America, and the "large" size in America generally is never served in Europe. From what I've noticed, people here in Leuven at least, are fitter and dress better too.

Adjusting to life here hasn't been too difficult after renting my own bike to get around. In my first week here, I spent the first three days running around, getting registered at the appropriate locations, paying all my deposits, and looking for wifi in random locations (we couldn't get internet access in our rooms until we registered, which didn't happen until the third day.) The building we're staying at is called Wisteria at De Waag, and everyone is in a fully furnished studio. I got lucky, and my room came with a toaster, coffee maker, iron, hot water boiler, and a bunch of other goodies, like a double sized bed! The only downside to the room is that there is no wireless internet, but a few students bought routers and made their own. On the second day, we had orientation day at IMEC to meet our supervisors, take a safety tour, and get our badges. The IMEC campus is beautiful and quite large. It's almost a 7-10 minute walk from the labs to my desk office. Many parts of the buildings remind me of the office buildings in the Silicon Valley; they are big windows, very white walls, shiny surfaces, and lots of light. IMEC also has amazing equipment and facilities, most of which puts the stuff we have at Hopkins to shame.

Modern IMEC lab.

After finally getting oriented, Thursday turned out to be a holiday in Belgium, so we didn't have to go to work. Friday at IMEC was also a day off, so in my first week here, I already had a long weekend! To make the most of it, the four of us from Hopkins, as well as a few other friends we met, decided to make a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam (which I'll talk about in my next blog post!) However, I haven't had a chance to really explore and sightsee in Leuven or other parts of Belgium. Hopefully that will change soon!

The past and present collide in Leuven

During the summer of 2012, I was lucky enough to make a quick visit to IMEC to start a project with Evelien Mathieu, a Ph.D. student at IMEC. Last April, Evelien visited JHU and the lab of my adviser, Dr. Konstantinos Konstantopoulos, to learn techniques to study cell migration.

Now, the collaboration continues, and I am back in Leuven. We are working on combining a microfluidic device that we use to study cell migration with exciting imaging technologies being developed at IMEC.

IMEC is located adjacent to the Arenberg campus of KU Leuven, the largest university in Belgium. This photo is of Castle Arenberg, which amazingly was built in the sixteenth century and now houses the KU Leuven Faculty of Engineering.

In the photo, you can see IMEC's newest addition, a modern glass tower, which is still under construction, rising in the distance. I think the photo is a good symbol for my research project for the summer. Scientists have been studying cell migration for many years, but there is still a lot to learn. With our work at IMEC and JHU, we will build on the work of the past to make the study of cell migration more efficient and more productive. I'll keep you updated on how we're doing.

Blog post by Colin Paul, a doctoral student in the chemical and biomolecular engineering laboratory of Konstantinos Konstantopoulos

.

Photo by Colin Paul.

Not so different after all

Having never been to Europe, I didn’t really know what to expect. I find that although there are a few cultural differences between Americans and Europeans from different countries, there are also many things we have in common. One of the major differences is in the foods found here. For instance, peanut butter only began showing up in European supermarkets around 10 years ago and is still not very popular.

Summer life in Leuven, Belgium

Before I came to Leuven, I only knew a very old and famous school, KU Leuven and IMEC, where I am working for the summer. What was my first thought about Leuven? Some might say it is a historic city; some might say it is just a college town; and some might say it has the largest brewer group on the world. In fact, all of these statements are correct. I didn’t realize how beautiful the city was until I arrived.

Interuniversity Microelectronic Centre (IMEC), is located in Heverlee, which is the neighborhood of Leuven. It takes about 10 minutes to bike from IMEC to the city center of Leuven. So, you know you are not going to work at a place that is in the middle of nowhere.

My work at IMEC is trying to do single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection with digital droplet PCR. With advanced microfluidic techniques, hundreds of droplets can be generated within a minute. And each of the droplets can play as a single reactor. By doing droplet PCR, you can simply improve the conventional PCR and use it as a potential diagnostic tool.

Besides work, there are a bunch of activities you can do here. If you are academic, KU Leuven is probably the place you cannot miss. It is the largest and oldest Catholic university in Belgium.

If you like music, you would definitely like to go to the event called “Beleuvenissen” in July. There are many different bands from different regions performing their style of music from Friday to Sunday throughout the month of July.

If you enjoy historical architecture, the town hall and Grand Beguinage are the most popular sites in Leuven. They are both several hundred of years old and are still preserved very well. Grand Beguinage is one of the World Heritage Sites.

Working here this summer is a very special experience in my life.

Blog post by Wei-Chiang Chen, a doctoral student in the chemical and biomolecular engineering laboratory of Denis Wirtz.


Here are a few photos taken so far. All photos by Wei-Chiang Chen:

Beleuvenissen music fest

Castle Arengerg, KU Leuven

Library at KU Leuven

IMEC: Take Two (Peter Nelson)

Welcome to IMEC!

This is the second summer I've spent at IMEC working to further the research I do at Hopkins, so I've got a pretty good grasp at how life in Leuven runs. It has been very refreshing to return to Belgium and see all the old sights again. I don't feel pressured to run around Belgium and Europe, taking tons of pictures because, well, I've already done that. My focus this summer (culture-wise at least) is to relax and experience Belgian culture, instead of just observing it (which happens when you are in a rush all the time).

Getting back into the gist of things at IMEC has been quite easy. I didn't have to do nearly as much training as I did last year, so I got quick access to the labs I need to use. Unfortunately, I have to wait a while to make the hydropolymers that are essential to my project (missing synthesis component), however, I've been completing some nanoparticle characterization tests and figuring out the best way to test the gels when I can finally make them. Basically I get to sit in a room using a laser for large parts of my day, which is awesome, because, you know, lasers...

I'm still working on my Dutch, but I'm pretty sure this says "No Admittance, Laser Sharks," but I could be wrong.

Other than that, things have been quiet at work. I'm mainly waiting to receive one last component so I can start synthesizing composite gels, but I have lots of smaller tests that I can (and have been) doing in the mean time.

One thing that I've been trying to do (note the emphasis) is learn some Dutch this time around. I don't think I'll really use it much in conversation because I have yet to meet someone (in Flanders) who doesn't speak English better than I will probably ever speak Dutch. Even so, it's nice to actually know what people are saying, what warnings the signs have, and most importantly, what I am actually buying at the grocery store. So far, I haven't learned anything that is very practical, but I've got some basics down (like asking what someone is doing, where something is, and how many keys there are), so if you ever need me to ask a Dutch/Flemish speaker (who doesn't speak English) how many keys there are, I'm your man (as long as their answer is less than 12...I haven't officially learned any numbers higher than that). As you can probably tell, I'll be fluent in no time at all.

I'll update again when I get my research rolling and when I can count higher than twaalf. 

Until next time!

Blog post by Peter Nelson

Exciting research plus travel adventures

Nicolas Barbera at Bruges Monastery

While the research I undertook at IMEC gave me valuable experience with imaging techniques and cellular science, the most rewarding part of my time abroad was the travel opportunity. Before my time at IMEC, I had never been to Europe. As you can guess, I tried to make the most of my ten weekends, visiting a different city each time, including Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Bruges, and Antwerp.

For me, each city was an adventure. The fun was not only in seeing all the different and amazing sights (of which there were a ton), but in learning to navigate and explore cities where the language spoken isn’t English. This was especially true for the food. Some of my fondest memories include finding an out-of-the-way burrito shop in Barcelona, a doner kebap shop on the streets of Berlin, and my first time ordering in a Belgian restaurant.

One thing that really struck me about Europe was the architecture. So many of the cities I visited had markets and streets with buildings dating back hundreds of years, something you don’t get to see in America. (The closest thing for me would be some of the older sections of New York City, but even those are relatively young by European standards.) Needless to say, a large portion of my photo album consists of the various facades and buildings I came across in my travels. This includes churches: I explored and photograph dozens of them all over, each one a work of art.

While the travel opportunities I had were my favorite part my time at IMEC, I can’t discount the research experience. Being able to work in a lab like IMEC was great for both building my lab skill set and acquainting me with a working culture different from the ones found in Hopkins labs, things that will come in handy after graduating.

All in all, I’d say my time abroad was a worthwhile experience for my personal life as well as my professional one.

Blog post by Nicolas Barbera

More photos follow!

Checkpoint Charlie

First steps in the Mediterranean

Entrance to la Sagrada Familia

Hopping the Berlin Wall

Touring Belgium

Town Hall.

Of course, I had to see some sights while in Europe. It was a lot of fun walking around the historic city center in Leuven. Their city hall is beautiful, with detailed sculptures all the way up the walls.

I also made it to Brussels for a long weekend before flying home. I took a tour of the city by bike and stopped in the park for some freshly cooked escargot. I might not add it to my regular menu, but I couldn't pass up giving it a try.

Working in an international environment was an experience that I believe will be helpful as my career develops. Seeing how people work in different labs, usually with varying goals and environments, was interesting.

Bike tour.

It was encouraging to have the group coalesce around innovative ideas. Hopefully, we will soon start a project looking at why some cancer cells migrate away from a primary tumor while others are more or less stationary. Contributing to our understanding about how metastasis occurs could help prevent cancer deaths in the future.

Blog post by Colin Paul

What is IMEC?

The Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT) International Research Experience for Students (IRES) program began in 2009. INBT’s IRES program, funded by the National Science Foundation, allows students to collaborate with researchers from Hopkins and The Inter-University MircroElectronics Centre (IMEC) in Leuven, Belgium.

Students work at IMEC’s world-class microfabrication facility and learn to design, fabricate and test chip-based platforms and integrated microelectronic systems for biomedical applications. The goal of the program is to help students gain a broader, global perspective of science and technology.

But what is IMEC? Here is a video explaining many of IMEC's capabilities and research projects.



Blog post by Mary Spiro