01 Jacek Burger - Head of Product Development
๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐๐
3 questions. One perspective. Zero gravity.
Space biotech isnโt built by one discipline. It takes scientists, engineers, mission experts and business minds.
In ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐๐, we ask the people behind Yuri what they do, why it matters and what it takes to make microgravity research work.
Meet Jacek Burger, Head of Product Development at Yuri.
His job? Turning scientific ideas into hardware that can operate autonomously in space. From modular bioreactors to ScienceShells and ScienceTaxi, his work sits where biology meets engineering. So we asked him about turning research requirements into products, designing for different experiments and balancing customization with standardization.
๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ | ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐โ๐ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ต๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ?
"We translate biological requirements โ such as temperature control or nutrient flow โ into technical requirements that we can turn into a real product. Using technologies like 3D printing, sensors, electronics and embedded software, we build an autonomous and controllable system around the experiment. In the end, we deliver a fully integrated system that can operate in space โ either as a stationary setup or, in the case of ScienceTaxi, as a platform that returns to Earth and can be prepared for future missions."
๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฎ | ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ โ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐บ๐?
"Every experiment is different. A human cell, for example, requires very different conditions from bacteria. Our modular approach allows us to use the same basic platform โ ScienceTaxi โ while adapting the Mini-Labs inside, our ScienceShells, to the specific experiment. That saves us a huge amount of development time and cost while still giving researchers the flexibility they need."
๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฏ | ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐?
"Researchers naturally want as much flexibility as possible, but fully customized systems are expensive and take a long time to develop. So we standardize as much as we can โ electronics, mechanics and software โ while keeping the experiment chamber flexible enough to be adapted to different missions and scientific requirements. That balance allows us to offer customized experiments without having to reinvent the entire system every time."
#BehindTheBreakthrough #Microgravity #SpaceBiotech #SpaceTech #LifeScience #ProductDevelopment #Engineering