Students win bronze at the Applied Science Pitch Competition 2026

Unfortunately, light loss is part of the deal, and scale-up company Single Quantum found that their detectors were letting too much light slip through. Luckily, this was exactly the challenge Technical Physics students Frederique Buijs, Sean Hermina, and two others were tackling during their nanotechnology project. Together, they found a way to make the light beam smaller, or by bending it, to be precise. Their solution was so impressive that it earned them third prize at the Applied Science Pitch Competition 2026.

A lens or detector allows part of the light to pass through while blocking another part. Frederique and Sean added a layer of “photoresist” onto a small glass plate, arranged in a patterned set of zones. This layer slows down the light, and the pattern reduces the size of the light beam. The more zones in the pattern, the smaller the beam becomes.

Constantly trying something new

It sounds simple, but photoresist behaves quite unpredictably. “The thickness of the layer is crucial, so you try something slightly different every time”, Frederique explains. “We’re dealing with extremely small structures, so without a microscope you can’t do anything. That means spending many hours in the lab: cleaning microscope slides with acetone, dripping photoresist onto them, applying patterns using the laser writer, and starting over if it didn’t work. For six months straight.”

Spontaneously on stage

Frederique had just started her internship in Belgium when they heard they were allowed to pitch, so she recorded the video on her own. An invitation to the final soon followed. “Luckily, we received training beforehand, because the live pitch was in front of two hundred people,” Frederique says. “We learned how to clearly explain what it’s about within two minutes, even to people without a physics background.”

Ambition, deadlines, and new ideas

Sean and Frederique found it challenging to combine the project with their studies, but both look back on that period positively. Sean explains: “In year four, you have to choose between nanotechnology and photonics, but I wasn’t ready to choose yet. This project allowed me to work with both, which was perfect. I also truly enjoyed the collaboration with the lecturers and the company. The client was already giving us compliments before we were even finished.”

Continuing to explore

Sean is currently working on a 3D microlens during his internship at Single Quantum, while Frederique is conducting research at a Belgian hospital. “You can use this program in so many different ways”, Frederique says. “I’m still discovering what I enjoy most.”