Advent calendar - December 20th - Vincent Jassies

In the Zernike Institute Advent Calendar, we are presenting 24 short spotlights in December. In these specials, we highlight PhD students, postdocs, support staff and technicians of our research groups and team - providing a glimpse in their typical day at work. In Episode 20 meet Vincent Jassies, Research Technician for the Bio-Inspired Circuits and Systems group led by Elisabetta Chicca.

Hello everyone,

What an honor to be featured as one of this year’s spotlights!

I’m Vincent Jassies, the Research Technician for the Bio-Inspired Circuits and Systems group led by Elisabetta Chicca. I joined about six months ago, just in time to help with the big move to the Feringa building.

I’m 29 years old and live near Stadspark with my girlfriend. Like a true Dutchman, I bike to work every day. It’s a relief not having to battle rush hour traffic in my car anymore! Cycling to and from work is a great way to clear my head, well, as long as it’s not raining cats and dogs, which it seems, happens a lot these days.

My background is in Electronics, and I get to use that to support my colleagues with their research and projects. Before joining this team, I worked at a startup where we built a hydrogen drone for the medical sector. Being part of a small team like that meant wearing a lot of hats, so I’m used to diving into all sorts of tasks, which comes in handy here too! This international team is amazing, and I love that I get to do way more than just electronics. Plus, being the only Dutch guy means I sometimes double as the group’s unofficial Dutch teacher (and I get to practice my English).

During the pandemic, a friend and I started our own board game company called Growly Games. We created our own card game, Sheep Showdown! It’s a fun, fast-paced game where you play as a sheepdog, trying to collect as many crazy sheep as you can. There’s a rocket sheep that sends you flying, wolf cards to mess with other players, and even a bomb sheep to blow up your rivals! If you’re still hunting for the perfect Christmas gift, let me know, haha!

To wrap up this overly long intro: I hope you all have an amazing holiday season and a fantastic New Year. Stay safe, take care, and I can’t wait to see everyone in 2025!

Cheers,

Vincent

See all Advent Calendar items 2024 here!