Technical Support: hidden fingerprints on nearly every experiment

From large board to tiny microcontrollers

When Gerard talks about his work, it's hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. “I wish everyone could have a job as fulfilling as mine,” he says with a smile. Since he began, he saw his workplace grow and evolve. 

His first project involved an experiment in which 
about 20 students played a version of the Pong video game simultaneously while answering multiple-choice questions on their keyboards. To ensure the experiment ran smoothly, he built extra computer units, enhancing its stability and reliability. “In those days, we handcrafted everything," Gerard recalls. He meticulously drew circuit diagrams in ink on tracing paper and connected the components wire by wire. Then, he gestures to a small electronic part, roughly three by three centimeters, which is a microcontroller. “It used to take three large circuit boards to do what this little piece can handle, and we had to assemble them ourselves. But no matter how technology evolves, the essence of our work remains unchanged: we support researchers, provide technical solutions, and ensure that experiments continue without a snag.” 

Gerard has a hard time parting with anything. "One piece of technology might replace another, but each item holds both historical and practical value for me," he explains. To him, they embody knowledge, creativity, and craftsmanship. He frequently brings home old equipment, and now he’s managed to fill two bedrooms and an attic with his finds. "It’s a bit of a chaotic situation that I promise to sort out once I retire," he chuckles. 
 

New Generation

Peter Vermeer is part of the new generation of lab technicians and has just started his career at the TSG at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. He works as a lab technician and his office contains electronics, lots of electronics, including many different cables. His interest in this type of work started with Lego: “What I like is that I use simple and accessible parts to solve complex problems,” says Peter. “I can really be creative here and think of smart solutions. I can make almost everything myself. I think this fascination started as a young kid with Lego, when I built robots and machines.” 

Researchers always greet Peter with a smile. “That is the advantage of my role,” he explains. “When equipment in a lab doesn’t work as expected, researchers often feel stressed. I tend to feel very little stress myself. That may sound like a positive trait, although some might argue that a little more urgency from time to time could actually be helpful,” he laughs. 

Peter considers the MEG lab at Radboud University to be the most fascinating of all. In this lab, scientists analyse the electrical activity of brain cells. “The sensors in the MEG system are cooled using liquid helium, which we collect in a balloon for reuse. To enhance the safety and efficiency of this process, my colleagues and I have integrated additional electronics. Now, the system can automatically determine the optimal moments to manage the equipment. This is what I mean by developing smart solutions, and it's what I enjoy  the most.”

The combination of technical and creative work

Finally Paul van der Laan, developer at Max Planck Institute for psycholinguistics who was originally hired to build our VR experiments. Currently he is upgrading the VR Lab with the very latest computers and 3D LED screens, and hopes to be able to build experiments using Unreal Engine.

The variety of work is one of the most enjoyable parts of his work: “I can put my diverse background – including industrial design and game development – to good use. I do a lot programming, but I also design the virtual environments and digital characters. Sometimes I make physical tools, such as a clip that connects our eye tracker to our 3D glasses, and I print these out using our 3D printer. I really enjoy the combination between technical and creative work.” Yet the work is not without its challenges: achieving millisecond-level timing for stimuli in software not inherently built for such precision demands constant ingenuity and careful measurement. 

Looking ahead, Van der Laan emphasises the importance of technical staff engaging deeply with the scientific aims of a study. By anticipating needs and questioning feasibility early on, he helps shape more robust experimental designs: “It can be extremely valuable not only to think in terms of your own technical implementation and simply build what the scientists ask for, but also to understand the aim of the experiment to be able to raise critical points as early as possible and, if necessary, adjust the experimental design. For example, there was a request to select objects using hand tracking. I’d carried out a separate test which showed that hand tracking wasn’t precise or stable enough for our purposes, so we decided early on to use the VR controllers instead.

You may not always see them, especially when everything works exactly as it should. Their names rarely appear on publications, and yet their fingerprints are on nearly every experiment. With their skill, ingenuity and persistence, they turn ideas into working realities and ensure that research can move forward.