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Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

News

ERC Consolidator Grant for Kunal Masania's living composites

The European Research Council has awarded Associate Professor of Aerospace Structures and Materials, Dr Kunal Masania an ERC Consolidator Grant of €2 million for his research proposal AM-IMATE. This research on living composites can lead to ground breaking technology for making aviation more sustainable.

Emeritus Professor Prof.Dr. Jaap Schijve passed away

On Friday 13 January 2023, Emeritus Professor Jaap Schijve passed away at the age of 95. Professor Schijve graduated from TH Delft in 1953.

Flight altitude determines climate impact of hypersonic aircraft

Researchers at the German Aerospace Centre DLR, TU Delft and the Université Paris-Saclay have found that the climate impact of hypersonic aircraft flying on liquid hydrogen at 25 and 35 km altitude is at least 10 to 20 times worse than that of a regular subsonic aircraft at around 10 km altitude serving the same routes and number of passengers. This is due to the accumulation of water vapour in the stratosphere.

TU Delft students successful in Vertical Flight Society Student Competition

A team of six students from The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering led by Dr. Marilena Pavel have designed an electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi that is fully accessible for passengers with transportation difficulties. In these types of small aircraft designs this is still often overlooked. With this design, the team won the 2nd place in The Vertical Flight Society Annual Student Design Competition, Undergraduate category.

Most nitrogen deposition from aviation comes from high altitude

Aircraft emit nitrogen oxides and other emissions during both the LTO-phase (taxiing, take-off and landing) and when flying at high altitudes. These emissions return to the ground, resulting in nitrogen deposited over land and water bodies. Using an atmospheric model, researchers at TU Delft have quantified - for the first time - that in 2019 aviation was responsible for just under 1.2% of total global nitrogen deposition from all sources.

ERC Advanced Grant for Chiara Bisagni

The European Research Council has awarded an ERC Advanced Grant to Chiara Bisagni, Full Professor of Aerospace Structures and Computational Mechanics at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering TU Delft.

Senior Researcher Award Airborne for Bruno Santos

Bruno Santos received the TRA VISIONS 2022 Senior Researcher Award Airborne earlier this month at the TRA Conference in Lisbon. Bruno’s work as the coordinator of the EC Horizon 2020 ReMap project was perhaps the major contribution to his award.

Working in high winds

On Friday, 25 November, he holds his farewell speech at the end of the symposium "The Future of Wind. His last official words as professor at TU Delft. Professor Dr. Gerard van Bussel is one of the founding fathers of scientific education and research in the field of wind energy. Strongly connected to the world's challenges and co-responsible for today's solutions. A livable climate in the future has always been dear to him.

ERC Starting Grant for Francesco Avallone and Ivan Langella

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the ERC Starting Grants for young researchers. Two of them are scientists from the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. This European grant of €1.5 million for a five-year programme is designed to allow individual scientists to build their own teams and carry out pioneering research.

> More news

Stories of Aerospace Engineering

The women on a mission to reduce space debris

Over a million objects larger than one centimetre are orbiting the environment around Earth, threatening space operations and the future of space exploration. With their start-up Ecosmic, Gaia Roncalli, Benedetta Cattani and Mireia Leon Dasi are on a mission to tackle the rapidly increasing space debris issue. Roncalli, the recipient of the 2022 International Aviation Women's Association (IAWA) scholarship, and the all-female Ecosmic leadership team are contributing to a sustainable future and inspiring others along the way.

Revolutionary simulation model prevents disasters in space

Over six million kilogrammes of space debris are circling around the Earth at tremendous speed and is posing a danger to the functioning of satellites and thus to things like our data traffic. Mireia Leon Dasi designed a revolutionary simulation model to very precisely predict, and hence prevent, crashes of space debris. This earned her the title of Best Graduate 2022 at the Faculty Aerospace Engineering. Using the NWO subsidy granted to her start-up, she is now further developing her idea for use in practice.

Mars is not a back-up option

What can planetary science on the bone dry Mars teach us? What happened to its atmosphere? And, are there possible fall-back options for humankind on Earth? In context of the National Climateweek, we spoke with Sebastiaan de Vet, planetary scientist at TU Delft.

Climate research: the inestimable value of space

Research from space provides us with valuable insights on climate change. Jérôme Loicq, associate professor in Space Instrumentation, researches and develops tools that allow us to accurately study changes in vegetation on Earth and greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. "Space is invaluable for climate research."

Learning to lead as a young woman in aviation

It takes guts to pursue your dreams, but having good role models and mentors can make a difference. These are things that have helped Leanne van Dam, a master’s student at TU Delft’s Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, on her journey to becoming a leader. A recipient of the 2021 International Aviation Women's Association (IAWA) scholarship, she hopes her example will inspire others to follow their dreams.

The success of the Aerospace Innovation Hub: ‘It’s fantastic to see companies take off’

From satellites that are launched into outer space from an aeroplane to predicting ticket prices based on an algorithm: the companies that are part of the Aerospace Innovation Hub (AIH) at the TU Delft Campus are developing groundbreaking innovations in the area of aviation and aerospace. Femke Verdegaal, a member of management with shared responsibility for the growth of the initiative, talks about bringing together industry, science, start-ups, and students with the aim of promoting innovation in aviation and aerospace. ‘We really function as a springboard.’

Smart certification for sustainable aviation

Rapid innovation is needed to reach the 2050 sustainability goals for the aviation sector. But rather than a lack of ideas, or the effort needed to bring these to fruition, the main bottleneck in reaching these goals are the existing, very lengthy certification procedures. Three TU Delft professors therefore propose a radically different approach towards certification in aviation.

Floating wind turbines change everything

In order to become climate neutral by 2050, the share of renewable energy generated at sea will need to increase significantly. Floating wind turbines, solar panels and tidal power plants will play a crucial role in this.

Cleaner aviation: the logistical puzzle

Improving the sustainability of aviation is not only a technological challenge, but also a logistical one. For example, using cleaner fuels for aviation calls for sufficient facilities at airfields. Researcher Bruno Santos is exploring the impact that new types of aircraft and fuels will have on logistical operations. It is hoped that this knowledge will accelerate investments aimed at improving sustainability.

Taking wind energy research to new heights with open-source software

Mark Schelbergen, PhD candidate at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, researches airborne wind energy (AWE) systems, a novel type of wind energy converter which is an alternative to the traditional tower-based wind turbines. To build a full picture of how much wind energy AWE systems can potentially harvest, Mark needs software to gain insights from publicly available wind datasets.

Delft researcher streamlines the path to Olympic success

Imagine being able to launch a satellite that would fit in your pocket and send it into space. It wouldn't only be cheap, it would also enable whole swarms of satellites to work together. A swarm would give a much clearer picture of the radiation in space and the atmosphere around planet Earth. Early January 2022 the mini satellite of Alessandra Menicucci’s team was launched with a Falcon 9 rocket in the Transporter-3 mission of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral. The team hopes they will be able to breathe life into one of the world’s smallest satellites in space.

The birth of the Delfi-PQ mini satellite

Imagine being able to launch a satellite that would fit in your pocket and send it into space. It wouldn't only be cheap, it would also enable whole swarms of satellites to work together. A swarm would give a much clearer picture of the radiation in space and the atmosphere around planet Earth. Early January 2022 the mini satellite of Alessandra Menicucci’s team was launched with a Falcon 9 rocket in the Transporter-3 mission of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral. The team hopes they will be able to breathe life into one of the world’s smallest satellites in space.

> All Stories of AE

Join us for a lab tour

Join us on a virtual lab tour to get to know some of our people and experience the labs they work in.

Faster to carbon-free aviation

Technological roadmap: how to accelerate the path towards carbon-free aviation

February

e-Refinery Lecture: Opportunities and Challenges for the Large-scale Implementation of CO2 Electrolysis

Thesis defence M.J. Ribeiro

Master’s Week

March

e-Refinery Online lecture: Microenvironment tuning for CO2 electrocatalysis

Calendar

ERC Consolidator Grant for Kunal Masania's living composites

The European Research Council has awarded Associate Professor of Aerospace Structures and Materials, Dr Kunal Masania an ERC Consolidator Grant of €2 million for his research proposal AM-IMATE. This research on living composites can lead to ground breaking technology for making aviation more sustainable.

Emeritus Professor Prof.Dr. Jaap Schijve passed away

On Friday 13 January 2023, Emeritus Professor Jaap Schijve passed away at the age of 95. Professor Schijve graduated from TH Delft in 1953.

Flight altitude determines climate impact of hypersonic aircraft

Researchers at the German Aerospace Centre DLR, TU Delft and the Université Paris-Saclay have found that the climate impact of hypersonic aircraft flying on liquid hydrogen at 25 and 35 km altitude is at least 10 to 20 times worse than that of a regular subsonic aircraft at around 10 km altitude serving the same routes and number of passengers. This is due to the accumulation of water vapour in the stratosphere.

TU Delft students successful in Vertical Flight Society Student Competition

A team of six students from The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering led by Dr. Marilena Pavel have designed an electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi that is fully accessible for passengers with transportation difficulties. In these types of small aircraft designs this is still often overlooked. With this design, the team won the 2nd place in The Vertical Flight Society Annual Student Design Competition, Undergraduate category.

More news

Join us for a lab tour

Join us on a virtual lab tour to get to know some of our people and experience the labs they work in.

Stories of Aerospace Engineering

The women on a mission to reduce space debris

Over a million objects larger than one centimetre are orbiting the environment around Earth, threatening space operations and the future of space exploration. With their start-up Ecosmic, Gaia Roncalli, Benedetta Cattani and Mireia Leon Dasi are on a mission to tackle the rapidly increasing space debris issue. Roncalli, the recipient of the 2022 International Aviation Women's Association (IAWA) scholarship, and the all-female Ecosmic leadership team are contributing to a sustainable future and inspiring others along the way.

Revolutionary simulation model prevents disasters in space

Over six million kilogrammes of space debris are circling around the Earth at tremendous speed and is posing a danger to the functioning of satellites and thus to things like our data traffic. Mireia Leon Dasi designed a revolutionary simulation model to very precisely predict, and hence prevent, crashes of space debris. This earned her the title of Best Graduate 2022 at the Faculty Aerospace Engineering. Using the NWO subsidy granted to her start-up, she is now further developing her idea for use in practice.

Mars is not a back-up option

What can planetary science on the bone dry Mars teach us? What happened to its atmosphere? And, are there possible fall-back options for humankind on Earth? In context of the National Climateweek, we spoke with Sebastiaan de Vet, planetary scientist at TU Delft.

Climate research: the inestimable value of space

Research from space provides us with valuable insights on climate change. Jérôme Loicq, associate professor in Space Instrumentation, researches and develops tools that allow us to accurately study changes in vegetation on Earth and greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. "Space is invaluable for climate research."

Learning to lead as a young woman in aviation

It takes guts to pursue your dreams, but having good role models and mentors can make a difference. These are things that have helped Leanne van Dam, a master’s student at TU Delft’s Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, on her journey to becoming a leader. A recipient of the 2021 International Aviation Women's Association (IAWA) scholarship, she hopes her example will inspire others to follow their dreams.

The success of the Aerospace Innovation Hub: ‘It’s fantastic to see companies take off’

From satellites that are launched into outer space from an aeroplane to predicting ticket prices based on an algorithm: the companies that are part of the Aerospace Innovation Hub (AIH) at the TU Delft Campus are developing groundbreaking innovations in the area of aviation and aerospace. Femke Verdegaal, a member of management with shared responsibility for the growth of the initiative, talks about bringing together industry, science, start-ups, and students with the aim of promoting innovation in aviation and aerospace. ‘We really function as a springboard.’

Smart certification for sustainable aviation

Rapid innovation is needed to reach the 2050 sustainability goals for the aviation sector. But rather than a lack of ideas, or the effort needed to bring these to fruition, the main bottleneck in reaching these goals are the existing, very lengthy certification procedures. Three TU Delft professors therefore propose a radically different approach towards certification in aviation.

Floating wind turbines change everything

In order to become climate neutral by 2050, the share of renewable energy generated at sea will need to increase significantly. Floating wind turbines, solar panels and tidal power plants will play a crucial role in this.

Cleaner aviation: the logistical puzzle

Improving the sustainability of aviation is not only a technological challenge, but also a logistical one. For example, using cleaner fuels for aviation calls for sufficient facilities at airfields. Researcher Bruno Santos is exploring the impact that new types of aircraft and fuels will have on logistical operations. It is hoped that this knowledge will accelerate investments aimed at improving sustainability.

Taking wind energy research to new heights with open-source software

Mark Schelbergen, PhD candidate at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, researches airborne wind energy (AWE) systems, a novel type of wind energy converter which is an alternative to the traditional tower-based wind turbines. To build a full picture of how much wind energy AWE systems can potentially harvest, Mark needs software to gain insights from publicly available wind datasets.

Delft researcher streamlines the path to Olympic success

Imagine being able to launch a satellite that would fit in your pocket and send it into space. It wouldn't only be cheap, it would also enable whole swarms of satellites to work together. A swarm would give a much clearer picture of the radiation in space and the atmosphere around planet Earth. Early January 2022 the mini satellite of Alessandra Menicucci’s team was launched with a Falcon 9 rocket in the Transporter-3 mission of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral. The team hopes they will be able to breathe life into one of the world’s smallest satellites in space.

The birth of the Delfi-PQ mini satellite

Imagine being able to launch a satellite that would fit in your pocket and send it into space. It wouldn't only be cheap, it would also enable whole swarms of satellites to work together. A swarm would give a much clearer picture of the radiation in space and the atmosphere around planet Earth. Early January 2022 the mini satellite of Alessandra Menicucci’s team was launched with a Falcon 9 rocket in the Transporter-3 mission of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral. The team hopes they will be able to breathe life into one of the world’s smallest satellites in space.

> All Stories of AE

February

e-Refinery Lecture: Opportunities and Challenges for the Large-scale Implementation of CO2 Electrolysis

Thesis defence M.J. Ribeiro

Master’s Week

March

e-Refinery Online lecture: Microenvironment tuning for CO2 electrocatalysis

April

Pro2Tech Lecture by Christine Hrenya

Calendar

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