The interior of prof.dr.ir. Sabine Van Huffel’s office in Arenberg Castle reveals a lot about the honorary-doctor-to-be. On the walls are posters displaying texts such as ‘the female engineer’ and ‘5 years of women’, and a calendar picturing the members of ‘her’ group of Biomedical Data Processing stands in the windowsill. Van Huffel is living proof it’s possible to be a mother of five of her own children as well as of two dozen doctoral candidates and postdocs, be a voice in the public debate on women in science, and “be a cut above” the competition at that - in the words of honorary official prof.dr.ir. Jan Bergmans.

From the outside, the home to the Department of Electrical Engineering of KU Leuven may exude grandeur, but its interior is rather prosaic. The tiled hallways with empty walls and black doors give the place a more practical feel that fits the purpose of the building. “It’s not too big,” the hostess says. “But luckily we’re about to expand so there will be ample space for potential guests from Eindhoven.” Indeed, these Eindhoven guests are expected: Sabine van Huffel’s honorary doctorate has sparked plans for a collaboration between her Leuven-based research group and the Signal Processing Systems group led by honorary official Bergmans, for example. The plans should result in the appointment of common doctoral candidates who will do part of their work in Eindhoven and part in Leuven.

Van Huffel: “We’ll be focusing on neonatal monitoring (the electrical monitoring of vital functions, including brain and heart functions, of newborns, ed.). I’ve been working on that for some time now, because it hits close to home. Newborns are extremely vulnerable and the right treatment is vital for the development of the children at a later age. TU/e has wide experience in the field of monitoring in a way that’s less drastic for the children. The monitoring equipment can be incorporated into their clothing, for example. Unfortunately, that does have a negative influence on the signal. With our expertise, we can help make sure the signal is used to maximum effect.”

Apart from the group of Jan Bergmans, which is part of Electrical Engineering, the collaboration may come to include researchers of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. One partner they definitely want to include is Philips Research. “It’s important to me this study results in an actual product. It’s very common for a certain method to be used only for as long as the inventor is involved, while ideally, you want to create something that lasts. For that to happen, you have to be able to sell your finding. And the Netherlands, and especially Eindhoven, is definitely much better at that than we are.”

It’s what marks Sabine Van Huffel: she doesn’t conduct research for the sake of research, or for her own success. The only thing that matters to her is that the techniques she develops improve the living conditions of her patients. That’s what drives her and makes her work around the clock. It’s obvious where her motivation comes from, she says. “When I was sixteen I needed back surgery because of scoliosis. I was in the hospital for two months. There were three other girls in my room, all three of whom suffered from bone cancer and were there to have one of their legs amputated. Two of them died within a year and the third, who was my age, became my best friend.”

“Thinking about that period now, I especially remember the friendly, caring doctors and nurses. Up until my surgery I wanted to become a sports instructor, but my back made that impossible. Besides, I wanted to give back. At an open day of Computer Science I had a crucial epiphany: I could use my talent for mathematics to improve medical technology. However, I was in a girls’ school that taught only four hours of mathematics a week, which wasn’t enough at all for an engineering program. In my final year, I gave my all to pass the engineering exam. And I did.”

She soon found out that patience is a virtue. It was only after a general five-year program that made her a computer science engineer that she could finally choose a medical subject for her final project. Or so she thought. “They thought it was a stupid idea, so I went looking for a suitable project myself.” After a while she found it in the Leuven hospital, where she analyzed the best direction from which to radiate a tumor. It turned out to be the start of a glorious career in biomedical signal processing.

Van Huffel is excited about the Biomedical Engineering program at TU/e. She would have liked to study that herself, she says. “When they started the program in Eindhoven, I thought that was fantastic. In Leuven I helped make the biomedical engineering subjects that were incorporated in the Masters Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering into an independent Master’s degree. It’s currently the program that attracts the most women, after architecture.”

The Flemish professor had never thought she would ever be an honorary doctor. “I couldn’t believe it when they told me. Hardly ever have I lobbied for awards, because I don’t care for personality cults. My priorities lie with supervising my students. Society may actually benefit from that.” The honor is definitely not just hers, she adds hurriedly. She regards it as an honor to her entire research group. “There’s more knowledge surrounding me than there is in my own head”, she says in an attempt to explain how she feels.

Cooperation and good fellowship are most important for Van Huffel. “There’s no competition here, I always tell new colleagues. Sometimes, they give me a surprised look, but I’m quite certain that cooperation leads to greater achievements than competition. These days, it’s especially remunerative for scientists to publish a lot. Because of that, people tend to keep new results to themselves for as long as possible. I’m convinced knowledge is lost owing to that attitude, and that’s why I promote solidarity in my group.”

And she seems to be doing a good job, as young parents in her group have asked colleagues to be their children’s godparents. “It’s a little extreme, but it shows they support each other in good times and bad times. Friendships like these improve cooperation.”