developed during internship 😉
fragrance 'aqua di algae'
Tibor Goysens, a bachelor student in pharmaceutical and biological laboratory technology, is doing an internship in the MicroAlgae department at Proviron. For his assignment, he’s investigating the growth evolution of our microalgae Rhodomonas salina and Chaetoceros calcitrans.
He is a bubbly young student, who from time to time dives into Flemish beers. His favorite is a ‘Rodenbach’, and that happens to be the color of the Rhodomonas micro-algae… After a ‘gastronomic’ night out, he likes to take a long walk with his dog to get some fresh air. Or he visits the gym.
Tibor, how did you end up with Proviron?
When the lists of internships at school were released, Proviron immediately caught my attention. My brother, Arvid Goysens, did a summer job at Proviron. His stories about the unique family atmosphere and the opportunity for personal development stayed in my memory.
Can you tell us something about your internship?
I came into a department where I was accepted into the ‘Proviron family’. Here I am working on my assignment to investigate the growth of two microalgae: Rhodomonas salina and Chaetoceros calcitrans. My work field is now mainly in lab and pilot (i.e. the phase between lab development and large-scale production.) Furthermore, I can participate in the research project into new harvesting methods. In other words, I am involved in the entire cultivation cycle. Because of Proviron’s unique bioreactors, scaling up between the various phases (lab/pilot/production) is actually only an expansion. Â
What is your favorite alga?
The ‘Rhodomonas salina‘, for sure. Because that alga is one of the most fascinating swimmers among algae. It’s a cryptophyte. Under a microscope, you can see this alga with 2 unequal flagellae moving gracefully. And in addition to its anti-carcinogenic characteristics, this alga will be useful in the future as a coloring and flavoring agent in the cosmetics and food industries. This alga could even be used in making fluorescent labels.
Let us then make a time capsule. Other than the Rhodomonas, what are you definitely putting in there?
I would put in a set of vial tubes with the various freeze-dried microalgae. Then in 20 years we can check to see if the distinctive smells have become widespread by then . Because I think the microalgae is going to play an important role as a fragrance in the future.
And, I would also throw in my Proviron T-shirt! Because there’s an anecdote that goes along with that. One of my first days I had to empty algae reactors. In so doing, I was a little ‘too’ enthusiastic, giving me an ‘algae baptism’ so to speak. That day I spent much longer than expected, so I had to go straight to my appointment in the evening. And let me say that it was there that I laid the first foundation for a new fragrance: ‘aqua di algae’.
