Twins get their PhDs at the same time
‘A different path didn’t make sense’
Door Jelka Pospig
By Jelka Pospig
Jelka Pospig
Two of her fingers bend to form half of a heart as she flashes an expectant smile at her brother. He laughs, then – reluctantly − shapes the other half with his own fingers. As they complete the heart together, Frederique grins and says: ‘Yes, we also live together.’
Friso and Frederique Versteeg try to avoid being cheesy, but their story naturally lends itself to it.
‘I’m twenty-seven years old’, says Friso. ‘I was born in Enschede, and moved to Groningen for my studies. I completed my bachelor’s degree, interned in Australia as part of my master, and then did a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Groningen.’
A fairly straightforward path, you might think. Nothing too much out of the ordinary. Until Frederique joins the conversation. ‘I have basically the same story. Just replace the first name and gender.’
This fraternal twin pair mirrored each other in their academic paths. Because, yes, Frederique and Friso are twins. Yes, they share an apartment and a job. And yes, after four years they now even share the day they got their PhDs, on October 15, one hour apart.
Independent choices
Their life path might seem like a conscious decision, as if the siblings simply can’t be apart from each other. But they insist that’s not true. ‘We both explore our options and then each chooses what’s best for the person’, Frederique explains. ‘People suggested it might be better to pick something different from what my brother was doing, but I think choosing a path like what you study is very…’
‘…definitive’, Friso interjects.
‘So it didn’t make sense to go with a second or third choice just because we made the same decision’, Frederique continues.
We both explore our options and then each chooses what’s best for the person
Their upbringing may have had something to do with their life choices. Their father is a somewhat known figure at the UG: professor of chemical engineering Geert Versteeg. ‘I think what’s great about chemical engineering is that it combines physics, chemistry, and mathematics with problem solving’, Frederique says. ‘For example, we have this massive amount of chemical waste we need to deal with. The challenge then becomes: can we turn it into something useful?’
Their independent choices just happened to align each time. Like the decision to stay in Groningen after their bachelor. They already had a close group of friends in Groningen, were familiar with the professors, and enjoyed the city. ‘If then, after that, you want to do a PhD in chemical engineering and stay in Groningen, there aren’t that many options’, Friso says. And it just so happened that a professor was recruiting for eight PhD candidates – the twins were both asked, and both accepted.
Supercritical CO2
Still, they do make different choices sometimes. A while ago, Friso joined a rowing club – although he quickly realised it wasn’t for him, so he returned to playing football with his sister. ‘So far, our hobbies align, but I recently picked up padel, and she hasn’t yet’, Friso says. ‘Yet’, Frederique emphasises.
It’s really nice to have a close friend with you
And when it comes to their research, Frederique’s PhD focused on fundamental research, while Friso leaned toward product development. That makes sense, as Frederique enjoys digging deep into a subject, uncovering new insights. ‘She’s really driven and knows how to push through when things get tough’, Friso says. ‘But my strength lies in finding creative solutions to today’s problems, rather than getting caught up in the details of why things happen.’
However, they both work with supercritical CO2 − a state of CO2 that occurs at specific temperatures and pressures. ‘It then behaves neither like gas nor like liquid, but has characteristics of both’, Frederique says, launching enthusiastically into complicated explanations.
‘You see?’ says Friso, when he pulls out a book to help her visually illustrate her points. ‘This here is a pressure chamber’, he points out. ‘There you have the gas phase and the liquid phase and at a certain point and here in the middle, it becomes one and then you have supercritical CO2.’
Stressful time
Their closely related fields of work really helped them when things got tough during their research – which always happens when you do a PhD. ‘It’s mainly about getting beaten down and getting up again after’, Friso says.
Life just happens − and you can always call each other
The beginning of 2024 was especially stressful for them. Nijenborgh 4 was set to be closed in April, and their group was moving to the Feringa Building. All research had to be finished before then. ‘Meaning, if you weren’t done with your experiments within that time frame, you would be screwed’, Friso says. This put a lot of pressure on both of them. ‘It’s really nice to have a close friend with you during those times’, Frederique adds.
Fortunately, they made it to the finish in time. One of the most rewarding moments of their PhD journey followed soon after, when their articles were accepted for publication. Frederique reflects with a smile: ‘That was the moment I thought: we did it. We’re finally done.’
Separate futures
Does individuality still exist within their dynamic? ‘We lead separate lives, of course’, Friso says. ‘I have friends who are close to me, and she has her own.’ Frederique adds: ‘He isn’t my identity; we’re just very good friends.’
Almost as a piece of evidence, she brings up their future. Because with their PhDs wrapped up, the twins will soon head to different places for their postdoctoral research – Friso to Ghent in Belgium and Frederique to Zurich in Switzerland. With distance between them, both will continue working on topics closely related to their earlier research.
It won’t be a problem, they believe. In Australia they did their internships in different cities, so they have experience in spending four months apart. Frederique notes: ‘There’s so much to do when you move to a new place: meeting friends, adjusting to new work environments. Life just happens − and you can always call each other.’
Looking back on the shared storyline of their lives so far, Frederique says: ‘I would go back in time and do the same thing again. I loved every step of it.’ Friso nods and adds with a laugh: ‘Yeah, the good, the bad, and the ugly.’