Prof.ir. Adriaan Beukers
Head of the disciplinairy group "Design and Production of Composite Structures"
Manager of Centre for Lightweight Structures (CLS)
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering
Kluyverweg 1
Postbus 5058
2600 GB Delft
The Netherlands
room NB 0.12
phone +31(0)15 278 5144
fax +31(0)15 278 1151
Biography of Adriaan Beukers
Adriaan Beukers is a full-time professor on composite materials and structures at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the DELFT University of Technology, a part-time professor for Engineering with Composites at the Materials Department of the LEUVEN University and Fellow of the KYOTO Doshisha University Composites Centre. He is also has been director of research and development strategies at the Centre for Lightweight Structures. This centre was a collaboration between the university and the national institute for applied research (TNO). Since 1977 he has worked on the design, analysis and ‘materialization’ of novel composite structures for the university and industry with customers including Airbus, Bombardier, Boeing and Extra. Adriaan’s approach to materials and structures development highlights the importance of using minimum material and energy to achieve the optimum physical and mechanical properties possible in a structure. An active application of both function integration and segregation as a design philosophy was leading to unusual and successful composite designs ranging from ultra lightweight rescue bags, beer kegs, pressure vessels to aircraft fuselages. As an author of the book ‘Lightness’ (1998) and ‘Flying Lightness’ (2003), he advocates the study of nature’s organic structures as an inspiration for development of man-made polymeric materials and structures, which can be shaped, reinforced and pre-tensioned. These result in mechanically stable structures, which can incorporate a number of high performance characteristics, such as maximum strength per unit weight and thermal and acoustic damping properties. For the development of aerospace structures in the years to come he and his team are working on novel low cost production processes, low cost and durable fuselage structure concepts and last but not least three dimensional multi-dome shaped pressure vessels and fuselage cabins for blended body aircraft.
Curriculum Vitae A. Beukers
Personalia
Name Adriaan Beukers
Education
MSc in Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology (DUT), The Netherlands
Thesis: 'Stresses around pin-loaded holes in elastically orthotropic plates'
Present positions
Professor and the ‘chair-holder’ on Design and Production of Composite Structures at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the TUDelft
‘Anthoni van Leeuwenhoek’ Professor
Professor on Engineering with Composites at the Faculty for Material Sciences MTM of KULeuven, Belgium
Fellow of the Kyoto Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
Fellow of Lightweight Structures Delft TNO-BV
Former positions
Member advisory board for ‘future structures development’, Directorate Engineering Airbus Industries Toulouse, Alain Garcia (2004)
Director long-term development, centre for Lightweight Structures, TNO-TUDelft (1996-2005)
Visiting professor for European Course on Composites and Polymers at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (1993-2000)
Associate Professor on Composite Materials and Structures, Delft University of Technology (1987-1999)
Project Engineer for Composite Structures from development and analysis phase to the certification phase, Fokker Aircraft (1979-1987)
Honors and awards
“Most Entrepreneurial Scientist of the Netherlands”, The Hague, Science Alliance, VSNU, 2006
‘Flying Lightness’, best design book award, 2006
UfD-Ritsema van Eckprijs 2004, Formula Student and WASUB for excellent cooperation, 2005
The ‘Descartes Science Communication Prize 2004’ for “Composites-on-Tour”, KULeuven MTM, TUDelft LR, Universities of Liverpool and Napels, VIZO and Design Museum of Ghent, 2004
Targa al Merito per Prof. Adrian Beukers. Camera dei Deputati, Roma.Concorso Internazionale Antonio de Curtis "TOTO", VII Edizione Anno 2004. December 15, 2004
The ‘George Taylor (of Australia) Prize 2003’ awarded to A. Beukers, M.J.L. van Tooren en C.A.J.R. Vermeeren for their article “Aircraft structures in the century ahead”, published in ‘The Aeronautical Journal’, the Wright Brothers Centennial Issue, 2003
Finalist for the Design Award 2001 World Technology Awards 2001 organized and sponsored by Nature, Business Week, GlaxoSmithKline, et all, 2001
Dutch Industrial Design Award, Best Invention of the year 2000, ID-NL, Ultra-Light Pressure Vessel for LPG, A. Beukers, Th. de Jong, J.J. Koppert, ALE, 2000
‘Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’ honorary chair, DUT, 1999
National Award for the Originality in Industrial Design ‘Theo Limperg’, The Netherlands Design Institute, Amsterdam, 1997
Patents
A list of patents can be found at http://nl.espacenet.com
Publications
A list of publications can be found in the open literature or at www.library.tudelft.nl
