Let there be light: Quantitative imaging of nanoscale dynamics in polymer materials

About Hanne van der Kooij

Hanne van der Kooij is currently a Staff Scientist at the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter of Wageningen University. Her research revolves around the literal and figurative illumination of nanomechanical patterns in soft and (inter)active materials. Her ambition is to unravel the nanoscopic mechanisms underlying macroscopic functionality, and pinpoint key design criteria to truly control the spatiotemporal response from the single-molecule level upwards. In this pursuit, she has developed a four-dimensional microscopy method, laser speckle imaging, which offers highly resolved insight into non-transparent systems.

Hanne studied Molecular Life Sciences at Wageningen University (BSc and MSc). As an integral part of her master’s studies, she conducted a research project under the supervision of Dr. Evan Spruijt and Prof. Martien Cohen Stuart, using a variety of scattering methods to shed new light on polymeric micelles. She also completed a research internship at the University of Cambridge, England, in the group of Dr. Ahu Gümrah Dumanli, Dr. Silvia Vignolini and Prof. Ullrich Steiner, on the chiral self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals.

Hanne received her PhD degree in August 2020 at the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter of Wageningen University, advised by Prof. Joris Sprakel and Prof. Jasper van der Gucht, and entitled: “Let there be light — Quantitative imaging of nanoscale dynamics in polymer materials”. She believes that researchers can truly push forward the boundaries of what is deemed impossible by collaboratively enlightening complex matter(s), and by bringing light to each other’s paths. Inspired by her own limitations as a scientist on the autism spectrum, Hanne is moreover an outspoken advocate of academic inclusivity and diversity.