Their Majesties the King and Queen of Belgium Visit the VUB Photonics Campus in Pajottegem

On the morning of Tuesday 5 May 2026, the VUB B-PHOT team welcomed King Philippe and Queen Mathilde to the VUB Photonics Campus in Pajottegem for a tour of the research group's research and production facilities.

Their Majesties the King and Queen were received by Prof. Dr. Ir. Hugo Thienpont, Research Director of B-PHOT, together with Jan Spooren, Governor of the Province of Flemish Brabant and Kris Poelaert, Mayor of Pajottegem. After a formal welcome, they were introduced to Prof. Dr. Jan Danckaert, Rector of VUB, and Karsten De Clerck, Chair of the VUB Board of Directors.

The visit began with a focused presentation covering three central themes: B-PHOT as a research group, the team's role in the Einstein Telescope project, and the workings of the STEAM academy, an educational centre to discover science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Following the presentation, Prof. Dr. Ir. Hugo Thienpont guided King Philippe and Queen Mathilde through the research and production facilities. At three machines and processes, they were addressed by Prof. Dr. Ir. Michael Vervaeke and Ir. Dries Rosseel, who provided context on the ongoing technology development.

B-PHOT holds a prominent position within the international Einstein Telescope project, a future underground telescope in Europe designed to detect gravitational waves. The group's contributions span three areas: the ultra-precise polishing and metrology of the Einstein Telescope mirrors, the development of quantum squeezers at 1550 nm and 2090 nm to reduce quantum noise and the exploration of extreme freeform-optics concepts for compact, highly efficient beam-conditioning within the telescope infrastructure.

After the tour of the photonics infrastructure, the King and Queen made their way to the adjacent STEAM academy, where Dr. Ir. Wendy Van Moer was waiting to greet them. Together with 18 children from primary school De Parel, they discovered first-hand how the academy's workshops for children are set up and delivered.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde took an active part in the workshops, building a mini-rocket in both Lego and paper, before pressing the launch button themselves to send their paper rocket into the air. As a parting gift, Queen Mathilde received a 3D-printed bouquet from the STEAM academy.

The visit underlines the growing societal and scientific relevance of B-PHOT as a research group, active at the intersection of advanced photonics, major European research infrastructure, and science education for the next generation.