Laurens Mandemaker is a postdoctoral researcher working in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group at Utrecht University. He is currently working on the assessment and development of a micro- spectroscopic toolbox to detect and identify micro- and nanoplastics. This is mainly centered around scanning probe microscopy techniques: imaging techniques in which a sharp needle is used to make 3-D “mountain maps” of samples with a very high resolution, such as atomic force microscopy or photo-induced force microscopy. He earned his BSc and MSc degrees in Chemistry and Nanomaterials at Utrecht University, followed by a PhD in the group of Prof. Bert Weckhuysen on metal-organic frameworks. In this work, advanced micro- spectroscopy techniques were used to follow the formation, activity, and stability of very thin layers of such crystalline solids. He successfully defended his dissertation in June 2021.