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Sam Weima obtained his masters degree in chemical engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology. He is interested in device integration and exploring new ideas with interdisciplinary cooperation. He is currently occupied with applying machine learning to the development of interactive materials. A fun fact about Sam is that he once voluntarily went 2 years without wearing a jacket, just to make a point.

I’m Vincent van der Doef and I have started my PhD here at ECO and HIM since 17 October. I studied Molecular Life sciences at Wageningen University where I finished my master thesis working on 3D-printed micropatterned surfaces. I also did my internship in Hokkaido University in Sapporo on hierarchical Macroscale double-network composite structures. For my PhD I will work on Programmable lenses for optical wireless communications assisted by liquid crystal elastomers which will be used in the Beam-steered Reconfigurable Optical-wireless System for Energy-efficient communication project. I also used to write short fables and horror stories for my student association.

Duygu is a chemical engineer with a M.Sc. from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. She is interested in developing liquid crystal actuators which can apply force in a rapid manner. Fast responses can be accessed by designing instabilities into liquid crystal actuators Her project is a part of the STORM-BOTs initiative aiming to train next generation researchers in the field of soft robotics. A fun fact about Duygu is that her favorite artist is David Bowie.

Mert O. Astam is a materials scientist and engineering with an MEng from Imperial College London. He is interested in turning liquid crystal materials into electrically driven devices, seeking to extract the benefits to society of this technology. He has recently shown the intelligence of soft robots in his latest paper “Self-regulating electrical rhythms with liquid crystal oligomer networks in hybrid circuitry”. His project is a part of the STORM-BOTs initiative and he is collaborating with colleagues in Spain, Finland, Italy, Germany and the UK. A fun fact about Mert is that he used to work at a chocolate factory!