Lecture | Tuesday Talk
Making the Impossible Work
- Fine Mechanical Department and Electronics Department
- Date
- Tuesday 13 October 2026
- Time
- Address
-
Gorlaeus Building
Einsteinweg 55
2333 CC Leiden - Room
- BM1.23
You have designed the perfect experiment for your research—but the instrument you need to make it work doesn’t exist... yet. Turning bold ideas into reality with creativity, technical expertise, and a willingness to find solutions that have never been made before is exactly what makes research here in Leiden unique.
Join us for this special edition of the Tuesday Talk, celebrating 150 years of the Fine Mechanical Department (FMD). Meet the people behind the workshop that has grown to include the Electronics Department (ELD), and discover how they work with researchers to turn sketches and concepts into functioning prototypes.
Join this Tuesday Talk
Everyone who is interested in this edition's topic is welcome. Please let us know if you are attending.
RegisterFrom Idea to Invention
During this Tuesday Talk, members of the FMD and ELD together with their fellow clients will showcase two current projects and show what happens behind the scenes: how an idea is translated into a design, how technical challenges are solved, and how prototypes are built, tested, and refined. You will also get a glimpse of the expertise and equipment within the departments.
Whether you have an ambitious idea for a new research set-up or simply wonder whether the FMD and ELD could help with your next experiment, this is an opportunity to discover what is possible—and perhaps to start approaching your experiments differently. Because impossible doesn’t always mean it can’t be done.
About the FMD/ELD
Since 1876, the Fine Mechanical Department (FMD) has supported researchers at Leiden University with specialised technical expertise and craftsmanship. Over the years, it has evolved alongside research and grown to include the Electronics Department (ELD). Today, the FMD and ELD combine engineering, craftsmanship, and creative problem-solving to design and build custom components, instruments, sensors, and experimental set-ups—creating solutions that do not yet exist.
Programme
The programme of the Tuesday Talk is:
| 15.45 hrs | Take a seat |
| 16.00 hrs | Tuesday Talk |
| 17.00 hrs | Drinks |
Please note that this edition will take place in BM.1.23
About the Tuesday Talks
The Tuesday Talks are Leiden Science’s monthly dose of research inspiration from our staff, for our staff and all others curious minds. Every second Tuesday of the month from 16:00 hrs till 17:00 hrs, drinks and meet up afterwards till 18.00 hrs.