Everything started with combinatorial optimization in 2013. After being a student and afterwards piano teacher at Rotterdam’s Conservatorium, I decided to come back to science and follow a Master in Operations Research at Erasmus University. One thing led to another and I ended finishing a PhD in Design of Experiments with Peter Goos at KU Leuven. By the way, Design of Experiments is of a highly combinatorial nature, fact that sparkled my interest in this field. Ater a PostDoc at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Jeff Linderoth, I am now back to KU Leuven as a VLAIO Innovation mandate, working again together with Peter.