When I first landed in the Netherlands, I didn’t know much about dikes beyond the obvious — they keep the water out. With only a short window of time and limited research beforehand, I pieced together a story that would not only capture the science happening inside the lab but, more importantly, the people behind the science.

Through conversations with Stefano and Luis, I discovered something bigger: a nation’s relationship with water, and the invisible systems that protect daily life. Watching engineers model dikes felt less like observing data points and more like witnessing the quiet heroes of infrastructure at work. The challenge was turning technical research into a story anyone could connect with.