In 2005, the Faculty of Science was established at Utrecht University. Two of those first-year students were Esther Groeneveld and Hans Scherff, newcomers in the lab. The first step of their project: create small colloids, particles ranging from a few nanometers to micrometers in size. "It was supposed to be simple," Esther recalls. "Everyone managed to do it. Except us! Our particles became way too big."

Initially, Esther and Hans had no idea that their lab work would contribute to a significant discovery. "We were mainly frustrated that our experiment had failed,” says Esther. “But our supervisor, Volkert de Villeneuve, ran some extra tests that evening and came back excited the next day: this actually has huge potential! We revised our research plan together and were able to successfully finish our lab project after all."

It was ultimately Henk Lekkerkerker, then a professor of Physical Chemistry, who suggested submitting the paper to Science that finally provided experimental evidence to answer a key question in materials research: do crystals become stronger or weaker when they are formed around impurities?

 
Source https://www.uu.nl/en/achtergrond/how-a-mistake-by-first-year-students-led-to-a-science-publication-in-2005

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