Award nomination for research into glass production
Student Ivneet Singh has been selected as one the finalists for the ‘ECHO Award Bèta techniek’. He has been working on a new way of producing glass to make complete transparent structures in large-scale public spaces. His dedication and approach to his complex and challenging graduation project resulted in his nomination.
He was able to reduce production time for creating a thick glass column to just a few days, by using modern techniques like computational tools and 3D printed sand for casting moulds. His project not only reduces the energy uses and carbon footprint of the production technique. It also contributes to revolutionising the way we think about glass as a building material. Ivneet works on this project within the Building Technology track of the Architecture, Urbanism and Buidling Sciences Master of Science, with tutors Faidra Oikonomopoulou and Serdar Asut.
About his nomination, Ivneet says: “Belonging to the religion of Sikhism, I am uniquely identifiable through my turban, signifying social justice and community service. Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world, evolving from the Hindu community as the protectors for India, specifically the Punjab region. The people in our community are very friendly, helpful and have jolly characters. But a majority of the population living in the Netherlands is unaware of my religion, associating Sikhism with an orthodox society. This tends to make Dutch people feel uneasy or uncomfortable in front of us, in turn making us feel excluded. With the platform offered by ECHO, I would like to popularise the beliefs of our community and clear away the associated prejudices. I am motivated to spread awareness about the interest of the minorities here in the Netherlands. I want to make them feel comfortable by being a part of the collaborative environment.”
ECHO, or Expertisecentrum Diversiteitsbeleid, develops projects to contribute to a more inclusive society. The ECHO Award is an effort in making the strength of diversity visible and tangible. The four ECHO Awards 2019 are being rewarded on 26 September 2019 to the fourteen finalists. Find out more about the awards and the finalists here.