‘Use your common sense’
Name? Daan van Eijk
Born? 1984
Job? Staff member at KM3NeT
What do you do? I coordinate the production of the detector lines of KM3NeT. You might know the glass spheres with the diameter of a dart board. Those are being built and assembled in different places in Europe. The 100 meter long lines that hold the spheres, are also built all throughout Europe. Everything needs to fit.
Stress? Just like all other particle physics experiments, KM3NeT is the only one of its kind. This means that new technology needs to be developed to make the experiment possible. For instance, I worry if all optical and electrical systems are indeed waterproof under the immense water pressure at several kilometres depth.
Favourite part? The contact I have with people. You can have a weekly teleconference meeting with each other, but you don’t really understand someone’s motivations until you have a cup of coffee with them.
Best advice? That was from Niels Tuning, my PhD supervisor at Nikhef. I thought he and the other colleagues were so smart. Niels said to me at some point, ‘I’m sorry, but I just use my common sense to be honest.’
Fun fact? I donated my piano to Nikhef. When I bought it from my sister, I did not realise I was living in a tiny apartment in the Jordaan part of Amsterdam. I talked to Nikhef director Stan Bentvelsen and then it was sorted.
