Jasper's day
Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life. Jasper first wrote his column from Kuala Lumpur, and it was ready to share. Then a crisis arose this week that demanded the utmost of all employees. He wants to reflect on that too because it was a remarkable achievement. Therefore, this week a double column, spread over two days, from two worlds.
Wednesday, 24 May
‘The alarm is set at 5:30 am, but it turns out to be unnecessary. I awake at 5 and sit down to my breakfast of muesli with milk at quarter past 5. At 6, my shift starts as Chairman of the faculty Decentralised Crisis Team (DCT), which has been in full swing since yesterday morning around 10 am. Reason is the fire in the Boiler House on the Wassenaarseweg, which suddenly left our buildings without power. The first alarm signals reached me around quarter to 10, on my way to school for a progress meeting. Within a short time, it became clear that this was not going to be an ordinary Tuesday; from that moment on, little within the Faculty went as planned. And that applied to me too.
A little after 5.30am, I log into the Teams environment of our DCT from home. I see Maaike Barkema, who has been working through the night with several others. From 6 o'clock onwards, she hands over the work to the next DCT team. She informs me about the initial progress and the events of the night. It is incredible all that is involved in this calamity! Fortunately, there were no personal accidents, neither in the fire nor in the collective evacuation. But the concern for the buildings, laboratory animals, equipment, samples, chemicals, etc. from the beginning of the crisis until this morning has been enormous. It is incredible how hard many people had been working from the very beginning to secure as much as possible and to get everything back up and running.
'I am so proud of everyone who helped with so much commitment'
Emergency generators were towed in, many dozens of metres of extension cables laid, freezers dragged and samples moved, sometimes to LUMC. Doors had to be guarded all night because they would not close. It is a mega job. When our DCT shift starts this Wednesday morning, much is already under control. A bypass has been installed for the major power supply and buildings are slowly being restarted. Little did I realise before how complex restarting a modern building is, with all its electronic facilities, such as entrance doors, communication channels, fire alarm systems, air handling, etc.
After the handover by Maaike, we go through the to-do items one by one. The aim is to be able to reopen as many buildings as possible before 9 o'clock so that teaching can continue as much as possible. After the handover by Maaike, we go through the to-do items one by one. The aim is to reopen as many buildings as possible before 9 o'clock so that teaching can continue as much as possible. This is successful for the Snellius, the Saucer (lecture halls) and LMUY. With a lot of manoeuvring and extra efforts by FAFS officers to deal with non-operational fire alarm systems, Huygens/Oort also managed to open for teaching on time. Other activities in this building can only take place in the course of the morning. It is clear that Sylvius and Gorlaeus will have to wait a little longer. There are so many experimental facilities there that need extra care, so some extra time is needed here. The central halls are still filled with freezers, surrounded by cables for emergency power. It is not possible to have large groups of people walking around here safely, despite the fact that all the facilities are restored. That's a shame because we know how badly researchers want to visit their setups to check on them.
Around 8 o'clock, we conclude our first consultation with agreements on who does what in the coming hours. Communication is a key point and Marjolein van Schoonhoven is busy with that. I consult with the scientific directors to get a better idea of the situation in the buildings and of the problems that might still be coming our way. I am also in contact with Leo Harskamp, the University's Head of Security. I am glad everyone is keeping calm and contributing optimally to the recovery. At 10 o'clock, the DCT meets again. The list of actions becomes clearer. Huygens/Oort can be fully opened and in Sylvius and Gorlaeus, technicians are busy getting equipment back to its original place and removing aggregates. Everyone is working very hard. As DCT, we do start to feel some air to talk about things like attention to the people who have worked so incredibly hard, the upcoming aftercare and the evaluation of this crisis.
After this DCT consultation, I handle two regular appointments online. It takes some effort to throw myself fully into these, but once in conversation, they become successful consultations. At 1 pm, we consult as DCT for the last time today. We note that the Gorlaeus and Sylvius are just about ready to reopen as normal. Still, we decide to keep the buildings closed today because there are not enough FAFS officers to ensure safety. Most of them have done so much in the past 24 hours that it is not responsible to continue working any longer. We discuss as DCT the last actions for today and agree to meet tomorrow morning hopefully for the last time for some checks and arrangements regarding final communication, aftercare and evaluation.
After this, I have two more online appointments on regular business and I call some people to talk through the past 30 hours. I do some quick shopping with Kamiel and make delicious Mexican wraps with Jasmine. After dinner, I prepare for tomorrow's day. Not too many items and that suits me fine, as it allows me to go for a swim and go to bed on time. The day has been long and exciting enough.
After this, I have two more online appointments on regular business and I call some people to talk through the past 30 hours. I do some quick shopping with Kamiel and make delicious Mexican wraps with Jasmine. After dinner, I prepare for tomorrow's day. Not too many items and that suits me fine, as it allows me to go for a swim and go to bed on time. The day has been long and exciting enough.
Before I fall asleep, I remember learning something important: the people in our faculty are willing to make a huge effort for each other and the entire organisation in a crisis. Across borders of buildings and institutes and right across all sections. That includes the central university departments, for whom I also have nothing but praise in this crisis. Together, we got the job done. A huge job. I hope that the coming days will show that the damage is limited and that everyone will soon be able to continue where everything stopped on Tuesday. How proud I am of everyone who helped with so much commitment and cooperated with so much understanding to make everything run orderly. Thanks to all of you!'
Read the original column below with a report from Kuala Lumpur
Monday 15 May
‘The alarm clock rings at seven in Sunway City, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur and my last stop on this trip. After a successful week with visits to Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Universitas Gadjah Mada (Yogyakarta), Universitas Indonesia (Jakarta) and National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN, Jakarta), I arrived here Friday night. During my trip, I saw that Indonesia has started to put more resources and ambition into higher education, research and innovation than five years ago. Therefore, an interesting partner to work with.
I spent the weekend with Sibrand and Joke Poppema. Sibrand has been president of Sunway University, the beating heart of this place, since 2021. Sunway City is a sustainable living community, built in a barren area where tin was once mined. The Poppemas live beautifully by a lake created from a mining crater. The lake is now surrounded by tropical greenery and inhabited by fish and reptiles.
'I discover that many types of flooring release microplastics when we walk on them.'
After breakfast, we head to the university by foot, a 20-minute walk uphill. With already 28 degrees and high humidity, I arrive at the office soaked. I had anticipated this and after 15 minutes of cooling down, I freshen up and change clothes. This way I can still spend the day neatly dressed.
Sunway University is a private university, founded in 2004, with around 9000 students nowadays. Sustainability is the main theme here and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) play an important role in education and research. Everywhere on the compact campus you can see the familiar colourful tiles of the SDGs.
I spend the first two hours with staff from the Faculty of Engineering and Technology. We mainly talk about research on materials. I visit laboratories and talk to PhD students. One interesting project concerns the analysis of microplastics in the environment by size and species using optical techniques. To my surprise, I learn that many types of flooring give off microplastics when we walk on them.
After, I speak to professor Angela Amphawan. She works on optical communication with a special interest in manipulating light waves with micro-mirrors to efficiently transfer images. Her PhD students give me a nice demonstration of the technique in their lab.
After lunch, where I amaze colleagues by eating a spicy local dish to the last bite, I speak to faculty dean Denny Ng. I then hold an introduction to an audience of about 50 staff and students about our faculty in Leiden and a lecture on nano-materials. There are many questions, sometimes with an unexpected angle. Those are always the most fun anyway because they force us to think "out-of-the-box".
In the late afternoon, I walk back home with Sibrand. It is warmer than this morning and a new change of clothes is needed. We have a delicious dinner -Joke is a professional cook- after which I quickly pack my suitcase. At 9 o'clock, I say goodbye and am driven to the airport. My flight will leave at 1am. At the airport, I have time to call one of our scientific directors about an urgent matter and download the final meeting documents for tomorrow: a 13-hour flight is long enough to sleep ánd read.
Around midnight, I go to the gate, where I meet Annetje Ottow and Erik Danen again, among others. They have been active in Jakarta until today. Everyone is full of experiences which, despite the fatigue felt, are exchanged energetically. We conclude that it was a successful trip.’