Heidi Ottevaere is a professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She holds responsibility for the Instrumentation and Metrology platform at the Photonics Innovation Center and heads the research unit 'biophotonics sensing' at the Brussels Photonics Team B-PHOT. Heidi coordinates and actively participates in various research and industrial projects with a primary focus on the design, fabrication, and characterization of diverse photonic components and systems. Her expertise spans the fields of biophotonics, environmental monitoring, interferometry, holography, and imaging. Specifically, she concentrates on developing sensitive and compact optical-based detection probes for measuring particles, contaminants, bacteria, biofilms, and other substances in water.