The Executive Board has appointed Dr Henri Werij as dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (AE), starting from 1 June 2017. Dr Werij is currently Director of Space and Scientific Instrumentation at TNO. Werij studied experimental physics at Leiden University, where he obtained his doctorate with honours in 1988. He then worked as a researcher at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) in Boulder, Colorado (US) and at the University of Amsterdam. He has been connected to TNO since 1993, first as a scientist and subsequently in a variety of (management) roles.

To incorporate drones in our lives in a good and safe way, we need anti-drone instruments. On 13 February 2018 the TU Delft Micro Air Vehicle Lab (MAVLab) will therefore host the first ever anti-drone competition DroneClash. During this competition participants use their own drone(s) to take down as many other drones as possible. They also need to avoid a whole series of anti-drone interventions. Teams who wish to take part in the competition can register from this week.

After a career in wind energy spanning forty years, Professor Gijs van Kuik gave his valedictory address at TU Delft on Wednesday, 7 December. In his speech, he predicted that offshore wind energy would be one of the cornerstones of the sustainable energy supply by 2050. He also argued that the cost of wind energy needed to be further reduced and its value for society increased.

During an experiment performed on board of the International Space Station (ISS) a small drone successfully learned by itself to see distances using only one eye. Researchers presented the preliminary results of this experiment at the 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Guadalajara, Mexico.