`Coming here has opened my eyes, I have the chance to use the best facilities at the UT,' says Wojciech Piotr Bula, the dedicated member of the research groups of BIOS (the Lab-on-a-Chip Group) and SMCT (SupraMolecular Chemistry & Technology) in the MESA+ Research Institute.
Wojciech began his studies of electronics at the Wroclaw University of Technology, and then continued his education in the field of microsystems technology. Staying four months at the University of Twente and conducting measurements under the supervision of Dr. Remco Wiegerink with a Socrates/Erasmus grant motivated him to continue his studies at the UT. `The UT has the best facilities for microsystem technology in Europe' he says, `I can learn more about my field here.'
After graduating with honours, he worked as a junior researcher at his home university. Since August 2004, he has been a member of both of the groups, supervised by Professor Albert van den Berg and Professor David Reinhoudt. He is interested in `the development and evaluation of microreactor chips in which the kinetics of organic reactions can be determined on-line, using mass spectrometry.' Coming from a microsystems technology background, he is learning the chemical aspect of the project at the UT, and seems very happy about learning more and more every day. `I really like my job and I would love to stay at the UT and continue research after the PhD,' he adds.
Being an enthusiastic researcher is not Wojciech's only priority. The Polish PhD candidate is also interested in poetry; his work has even been published in some literary magazines and anthologies. He writes most of his poems in Polish first, and then sometimes translates them into English. `I cannot say that you can really translate a poem, they are more like the upgrades of the original ones,' Wojciech argues.
He is also a member of the Yacht Club - Academic Sports Association Wroclaw (JKAZS) and is getting prepared for a new trip from Brest, France to Gdynia, Poland in July. Last September, he shared his hobby with his colleagues at the UT during a two-day trip to Friesland. `The conditions were far from ideal, the wind was not regular, the crew was not experienced,' he recalls. `But they were very fast learners, so everything was fine after the first couple of hours.' He is overcoming the difficulties of adapting to a new life in a relatively small city compared to his hometown by spending time jogging and going to pubs with his circle of close friends.
Wojciech thinks Poland's image in the Netherlands is not completely realistic. He argues that the Polish tendency to have both European and non-European allies for security is not well understood in the European Union. And, sending troops to Iraq is a part of this political decision on security concerns. `Poland did not change overnight as of May 2004, the transition started 15 years ago and now we are a part of Europe,' he says.
Hometown: Wroclaw, Poland
Languages spoken: Polish, English
Favourite books: `El Aleph' by Jorge Luis Borges, `One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Favourite musical groups: The Doors, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin
Favourite drink: Red wine
Favourite place in the NL: Delft
Dream Destination: New Zealand
Miss most about home: Family, friends, shops with longer working hours
Best part about living in the NL: Kindness of the Dutch people
Worst part about living in the NL: Rain, rain, rain!
Deniz Karakaya
