Imaging the
invisible.
Building what's
missing.
Advanced microscopy, optics, and scientific instrumentation across the boundary between what can be seen and what can be built.
"The best scientific instruments are the ones that make previously impossible questions suddenly answerable."
— Research PhilosophyI am a researcher and instrument builder working at the frontier of optical microscopy, nanoscience, and advanced imaging. My work spans fundamental physics and practical engineering — designing new systems that reveal how matter behaves at scales the naked eye cannot reach.
Beyond the lab, I build tools and platforms for the broader scientific community, including MicroscopyIndex.io, an open resource for microscopy researchers worldwide. I am driven by a conviction that science advances fastest when knowledge and tools are shared freely and built well.
What I work on
My work spans several interconnected domains, united by a shared interest in seeing and measuring matter at its most fundamental scales.
Optical Microscopy & Instrumentation
Designing, building, and operating custom microscopy systems: from multiplane and multidimensional platforms to optical trapping setups. Three instruments built and fully operational, two more in progress.
Image Processing & Analysis
Developing algorithms that extract quantitative information from complex imaging data, including CLIM for functional mapping of materials, 3D particle tracking, and open-source tools for the community. Actively learning and developing deep learning tools
Optical Manipulation
Using structured light fields to trap, assemble, and control matter at the nanoscale, from optical tweezers and optical binding to the emergent physics of light-driven nanoparticle assemblies. Also working on dielectrophoretic manipulation which uses alternating electric field instead of light.
Nanoscience & Materials
Investigating functional materials such as perovskites, colloidal nanoparticles, optoelectronic devices, at the nanoscale, where optical properties, carrier dynamics, and structural heterogeneity determine macro behaviour.
Featured projects
Selected publications
Major Initiative
Open tools for the imaging community
microscopyindex.io
MicroscopyIndex.io is an open repository and community resource for microscopy researchers worldwide, a central hub for instruments, protocols, datasets, and knowledge that has long been scattered across the literature.
Learn More →Curated Repository
Structured, searchable access to instruments, protocols, and resources.
Community-Driven
Built with and for the global microscopy research community.
Open Access
Free, open, and designed to lower barriers across the field.
How I can help
I am open to a range of collaborations, from scientific partnerships to consulting, speaking, and joint initiatives.
Research Collaboration
Interdisciplinary projects combining optical science, imaging, and materials research.
Industry Consulting
Optics, microscopy systems, imaging pipelines, and scientific instrumentation.
Invited Talks
Conferences, symposia, workshops, and seminars on microscopy, imaging, and open science.
Open Science
Partnerships around open tools, community platforms, and shared scientific infrastructure.
Scientist, builder, and curious observer of matter.
I study how light reveals the structure of matter, and build the tools to do it better.
My research sits at the intersection of optical physics, instrument design, and nanoscience. I am interested in questions that require new tools to answer, and in building those tools with the care and rigor that science demands.
I have worked on problems ranging from the design of advanced microscopy platforms to the physics of optically driven nanoparticle assemblies. What connects these threads is a conviction that the quality of scientific instrumentation directly determines the quality of the science it enables.
Beyond the lab, I think seriously about the infrastructure of science itself, how tools, data, and knowledge are shared, and I build accordingly.
My work spans advanced microscopy system design, multidimensional imaging, optical trapping, optical matter, nanophotonics, and precision instrumentation. I am drawn to problems that sit at the edge of what existing tools can measure, and to the engineering challenges of extending those limits.
I approach instrumentation not just as an engineering exercise, but as a form of scientific reasoning: the design of a tool encodes assumptions about what matters and what can be known.
Researcher — KU Leuven, Molecular imaging and photonics, Hofkens laboratory
Advanced microscopy, optical instrumentation, multidimensional imaging, and the MicroscopyIndex.io platform.
Ph.D. of Science In Chemistry, KU Leuven/Lund University
Thesis: Multidimensional microscopy a versatile tool to unravel material properties at the nanoscale]
M.Sc. Chemistry, Université de Liège
Summa cum Laude. One year Erasmus in Lund University, One year Erasmus Belgica at KU Leuven
B.Sc. Chemistry, Université de Liège
Magna Cum Laude
I am a strong believer in open science, collaborative knowledge-building, and the long-term importance of scientific infrastructure. MicroscopyIndex.io reflects this belief in practice. I am also interested in the relationship between scientific tools and scientific culture — how the instruments a field uses shape the questions it asks.
I am open to conversations about research collaborations, consulting, invited talks, or joint initiatives that advance the quality and accessibility of scientific tools.
Tools that extend the reach of science.
My research spans the design, construction, and use of optical instruments — with a particular focus on problems where new instrumentation is the limiting factor.
Focus areas
Optical Microscopy & Instrumentation
Designing, building, and operating custom microscopy systems — from multiplane and multidimensional platforms to optical trapping setups. Three instruments fully operational, two more in progress.
Image Processing & Analysis
Developing algorithms that extract quantitative information from complex imaging data — including CLIM for functional mapping of materials, 3D particle tracking, and open-source tools for the community.
Optical Manipulation
Using structured light fields to trap, assemble, and control matter at the nanoscale — from optical tweezers and optical binding to the emergent physics of light-driven nanoparticle assemblies.
Nanoscience & Materials
Investigating functional materials — perovskites, colloidal nanoparticles, optoelectronic devices — at the nanoscale, where optical properties, carrier dynamics, and heterogeneity determine device behaviour.
Active research lines
Three research programmes I lead or co-lead at the Hofkens Laboratory, KU Leuven — each addressing a distinct scientific question at the intersection of optics, imaging, and nanoscience.
Active & recent work
Publications
A complete record of my published research. Google Scholar · ORCID
Selected Highlights
Full List
Preprints
For a complete and up-to-date list, please visit my Google Scholar profile.
View on Google Scholar →An open repository for the microscopy community.
MicroscopyIndex.io is more than a side project — it is a long-term commitment to open scientific infrastructure.
The index that microscopy has always needed.
Microscopy is a vast and fragmented field. Instruments, protocols, datasets, analysis tools, and hard-won expertise are scattered across thousands of papers, lab wikis, and individual memories. MicroscopyIndex.io exists to bring this knowledge together in one open, structured, and community-maintained resource.
The platform is designed to be genuinely useful — searchable, well-organized, and built with the working scientist in mind. It is free, open-access, and built to last.
Science moves faster when tools are shared.
Every researcher who has spent weeks hunting for an obscure technique or rebuilding something another lab already solved understands the problem. The fragmentation of microscopy knowledge is not just an inconvenience — it is a structural barrier that slows discovery, particularly for labs with fewer resources.
MicroscopyIndex.io is a direct response to this gap — one built by someone who has felt it firsthand.
What the platform offers
Instrument Repository
Curated records of microscopy instruments — commercial and custom-built — with structured metadata, specifications, and links to primary literature.
Protocol Library
Step-by-step protocols, sample preparation methods, and best practices contributed and reviewed by the community.
Analysis Tools
An indexed collection of open-source analysis tools, plugins, and software pipelines relevant to microscopy researchers.
Community-Maintained
Built with contributions from researchers worldwide — designed to grow, improve, and remain accurate over time.
An open resource for anyone who works with light and lenses.
Visit MicroscopyIndex.io ↗ Partner With UsWorking together on what matters.
I believe the most interesting science happens at boundaries — between disciplines, between academia and industry, between the lab and the world outside it. I am always interested in conversations that cross those boundaries.
Whether you are looking for a research collaborator, a speaker who can make imaging science accessible and compelling, or a technical advisor for an instrument or imaging challenge — I am open to hearing from you.
How we might work together
Invited Talks & Lectures
I speak on microscopy, optical instrumentation, multidimensional imaging, and the future of open scientific tools. I am available for conferences, symposia, departmental seminars, and workshops.
Scientific Collaboration
I welcome collaborations with researchers in adjacent fields who need advanced imaging or instrumentation expertise — or who work on problems that intersect with optics, photonics, or nanoscience.
Technical Consulting
I consult for companies developing optical instruments, imaging systems, or scientific hardware — from early-stage startups to established instrument manufacturers.
Open Science & Platform
I am interested in partnerships that support the development of MicroscopyIndex.io and broader efforts to build open infrastructure for the scientific community.
Workshops & Training
Hands-on workshops on microscopy techniques, optical design, instrumentation, and image analysis for researchers at all career stages.
Cross-Sector Projects
Exploratory conversations welcome. If you are working on a problem where advanced imaging or instrumentation might make a difference, let's talk.
Let's talk.
I'm always open to interesting conversations.
Whether you want to discuss a collaboration, explore consulting, invite me to speak, or simply connect — I'd be glad to hear from you. I try to respond to all thoughtful enquiries.
Blog
Science explained — microscopy, imaging, nanoscience, and the tools that make discovery possible.