Videos

Sujith Reddy is working on perovskites, a promising new solar cell technology that captures more sunlight and costs less than conventional solar cells. Sounds great, right! But there's a catch: these perovskite solar cells ironically tend to break down when exposed to ... light. Sujith wants to uncover the mechanisms behind this degradation in order to improve perovskites and to use them on a larger scale.

The year is 2040. A drone just landed on your doorstep, delivering your favorite pizza, which you just ordered a few minutes ago. 🍕 😋 What a time to be alive right?! To make this scenario a reality, Adnan Albaba (Imec - VUB) is working on radar technology to make self-navigating drones.

"The greenhouse gases we pump into the air throw a thick blanket over the entire planet. By putting these to good use, my work aims to help remove this blanket of carbon dioxide, leading to a cooler future for all of us." Watch Divyansh Khurana (Imec - KU Leuven) explains how he wants to achieve this.

Lasers are not just toys to entertain cats. They can be found in many applications, such as scanners in supermarkets or for facial recognition on your latest smartphone. But there are even more fascinating innovations ahead of us ... if we can build even better lasers. That's what Iakov Goldberg (KU Leuven - Imec) is hoping to achieve. Can you believe that some of these novel perovskite lasers are assembled very similar to how you prepare your breakfast sandwich? 🥪 

In us, humans, curiosity is a driving force for learning. But did you know that AI can also benefit from curiosity, that is, 'artificial curiosity'? Computer scientist Louis Bagot (Imec - UAntwerp) explains how this works and why it is a good idea to tell AI & robots to experiment and have fun. 

Imagine if cars, windows, or even walls would be able to generate power? New, flexible, and ultra-thin perovskite solar cells could make this a reality, but there's a catch. Perovskite solar cells have a limited lifetime as they degrade under light and heat. Imec-researcher Wenya Song is looking to improve the lifespan of perovskite solar cells.

The corona pandemic suddenly forced teachers to make a shift from offline to online teaching. Keeping students engaged is already challenging in the classroom, let alone in an online context. How can a teacher do well online? Maaike Grammens and her colleagues investigated this by screening over 3,000 scientific articles on online teaching.

When you enjoy a day on the beach, you want to make sure to wear sunscreen to avoid sunburn. But did you know that quite a few sunscreens contain nanoparticles to help protect your skin from the sun? The use of nanoparticles is strictly regulated and only a limited amount can be used. Milica Velimirovic (VITO) is developing a new & fast analysis method to measure nanoparticles and their quantity in sunscreen. 

Do you want to know how to be successful on Tinder? Then take a look at this pitch by economist Brecht Neyt (University of Ghent). In his Ph.D., he unraveled whether your level of education plays a role in getting matches on the online dating app Tinder.📱💘

Diamonds are not only a girl's best friend (M. Monroe), but they're also an engineer's best friend (A. Mallik). Awadesh Mallik (Universiteit Hasselt - imec) explains why that is and how engineers grow diamonds in the lab. 👨🏽‍🔬 💎

As if developing a cancer drug is not difficult enough, you still have to successfully get that medicine to the tumor. Tim Bomberna (Ghent University) explains how computer simulations show us the way.

Heavy smartphone use results in poorer study performance, according to research by Simon Amez (Ghent University). To investigate this, Simon followed students for three years. Students with above-average smartphone use even score up to 1 point out of 20 less on their exams than their fellow students. 👨🏼‍🎓 📱