Archive

The COVID-19 pandemic is a reflection on our society and shows us just how vulnerable we are, despite all the advanced mathematical models that are supposed to make policy- and decision-makers aware of the potential risks associated with a pandemic. ‘Yet,’ write scientists Pasquale Cirillo (TU Delft) and Nassim Nicholas Taleb (New York University) in their recently published paper in Nature Physics, ‘most of these models do not look at the tail risk of infectious diseases, and there is very little questioning of the reliability of the various parameters.’ According to the scientists, extreme value theory (EVT) offers a solution for modelling the actual risks of a pandemic.

Researchers at Delft University of Technology have developed a sensor that is only 11 atoms in size. The sensor is capable of capturing magnetic waves and consists of an antenna, a readout capability, a reset button and a memory unit. The researchers hope to use their atomic sensor to learn more about the behaviour of magnetic waves, so that hopefully such waves can be used in green ICT applications one day.

Virtual Reality (VR) is not just about gaming or flight simulators. At TU Delft, PhD Yan Feng is investigating how it may help explain the behaviour of pedestrians. It took her just five months to teach herself how to create a complex virtual building. By then she had built an exact replica of her faculty building and invited real people to explore and evacuate it. So how did they find their way around?

Do walking and cycling make people healthier, or are healthier people more inclined to travel actively? And how does the coronavirus affect our travel behaviour? These are the kinds of questions that scientist Maarten Kroesen is investigating. In his view, situations are often not as simple as they might seem at first glance. He is nevertheless convinced of one thing: we should be walking and cycling more.

Copper is important for many processes in our body. Among other things, it supports the production of red blood cells, metabolism, and the formation of connective tissue and bones. Copper is also known to play a role in diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, we do not yet know exactly what that role entails. Researchers from Delft University of Technology and the Polish Academy of Sciences have now discovered a new piece of the puzzle. In order to be able to do its work, copper binds to different types of proteins in the cell. And although the complexes that are formed in this process are not harmful in themselves, temporary 'intermediate forms' appear to arise during the binding, which can lead to damage to the cell. The results of the research have been published in Angewandte Chemie.

The Social Distancing Dashboard creates city maps that show on a street and neighbourhood level if social distance rules can be respected when moving in public space.

For patients hospitalised with COVID-19, the battle is not just a physical fight against the virus, it’s a psychological struggle against isolation. Witnessing the impact of isolation on coronavirus patients, the Renier de Graaf Hospital in Delft reached out to scientists at Delft University of Technology to ask for help in developing an easy-to-use and secure communications platform.

Dutch people believe that any relaxation of measures to control the coronavirus should be limited, in order to prevent the healthcare system becoming overstretched. They also think that the measures should not be allowed to sow division: there is no support for lifting restrictions for specific groups.

In a very short period of time, students involved in OperationAIR have successfully developed an emergency ventilator for coronavirus patients. Following the necessary test procedures, the design of the AIRone – including all related documentation – has now been released online so that other countries and initiatives can also benefit from it.

The researchers of Project Inspiration have made all of the designs for their mechanical ventilator available worldwide. In this way, the team hope to reduce the shortage of ventilators in the Netherlands and abroad. In addition, a test model has been prepared, and it will soon be sent to Guatemala.

TU Delft researchers will be asking people in the Netherlands on how they would prefer coronavirus measures to be relaxed. From 29 April, anyone will be able to make their preferences known at www.tudelft.nl/covidexit.

Scientific research into the world-famous painting by Johannes Vermeer, known as the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', has yielded new insights. TU Delft researchers played an important role in making discoveries about the brushwork, the use of pigments and how Vermeer built up his painting with various layers of paint.

Richard Goossens, Professor of Physical Ergonomics in the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE), has been made a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in Vlaardingen. Because of the coronavirus, the official presentation will take place later in the year.

Delft researchers demonstrate that microorganisms can work together and help each other and their future generations survive and replicate at high temperatures.

Today, Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven and European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel launched Europe’s first public quantum computing platform: 'Quantum Inspire'.

The European Commission has signed the grant agreement for WATER MINING, a 17 million euro project aimed at demonstrating innovative water resource solutions. As part of the project, demonstrations in Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Italy and The Netherlands will be built to show novel efficient ways to reclaim nutrients, minerals, energy and water from industrial and urban wastewater and seawater. The public-private consortium consists of 38 public and private partners and 4 linked third parties in 12 countries. It will be led by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).

Water research and the coronavirus are not a logical combination. Nevertheless, researchers from Delft and Norway have managed to apply a finding from their water research in the detection of the corona virus. A coincidence – but certainly not less useful.

QuTech, a collaboration between TU Delft and TNO, has managed to control qubits in silicon at temperatures over 50 times higher than previously. The increase to practical temperatures represents a crucial leap towards a functional quantum computer. Qubits are the building blocks of a future quantum computer and operating at a higher temperature opens up the possibility of integrating both qubits and their controlling electronics onto one standard chip. The researchers published their findings in Nature today.

Today, a team of Delft researchers and students from the BioMechanical Engineering department is launching a new type of ventilator that is purely mechanical and which you could easily construct and repair yourself. The team borrowed a 1960s ventilator from Rijksmuseum Boerhaave and used it as inspiration. As it works mechanically, no electronics are required. This is particularly advantageous since its production is not dependent on the – now uncertain – supply of parts from China.

Amir Zadpoor and a team of scientists from the BioMechanical Engineering department are testing the first prototypes of a ventilator that consists entirely of standard parts. These parts are available locally almost all over the world and can be produced by hundreds of manufacturers. This means that, in many cases, the ventilator can be assembled locally. It is hoped that the design will be able to respond to the demand for ventilators and offer a solution to the logistical problems resulting from a shortage of specific components.

The Supervisory Board of TU Delft has reappointed Professor Tim van der Hagen as TU Delft Rector Magnificus/President of the Executive Board. The reappointment is for a period of four years and becomes effective on 1 May.

An International Universities Climate Alliance (‘Climate Alliance’) has been established this week. Over 40 universities from around the world committed to collaborating for climate insight and action.

TU Delft researchers and students are helping the FIOD (Fiscal Information and Investigation Service) in its efforts to combat digital and financial crime. After a successful pilot, a longer-term research programme is now set to start.

Collagen is the glue that holds our bodies together. It can be found in our skin, bones, muscles, cartilage, ligaments, hair, nails - in short, in almost every tissue in our body. In some places, for example in the skin, collagen proteins form networks that are very elastic. But why these networks are so elastic has so far been unclear. Researchers from Delft University of Technology, AMOLF and Wageningen University & Research have now discovered that the number of 'intersections' plays an important role. Between three and four connections per intersection is ideal. In fact, more connections makes the collagen networks less elastic. The new insights can be used, among other things, to repair damaged or aged tissue, such as cartilage or skin, and to grow new skin tissue for burn victims.

We've brought together some of the research being done at TU Delft bearing a relation to the coronacrisis.

Three TU Delft researchers have been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant. Cees Dekker, Jerry Westerweel and Lieven Vandersypen will receive this European grant, which is awarded to five-year projects conducted by internationally established research leaders.

IDE researchers, in collaboration with physicians and industry, designed a unique 3D printed connector to connect an ordinary snorkel mask to a filter system. This makes the snorkel mask usable as a protective mask for medical personnel. The design has been made available worldwide on Thingyverse.

A student is hitting a metal plate with a hammer while another is looking at a computer screen in a nearby tent. What (on earth) is happening here? ‘We’re studying the earth’s interior,’ PhD and geophysicist Myrna Staring says.

In the fight against the 'Corona shortage’ of face masks, John van den Dobbelsteen and Tim Horeman, researchers at the Department of BioMechanical Engineering department, and with lab manager Rob Luttjeboer, developed a successful way to test reused sterilised surgical masks and surgical masks made of new materials.

This week, under the leadership of Director of Studies for Technical Medicine Professor Jaap Harlaar, a group of Master’s students in Technical Medicine launched the OperationAIR initiative with the objective of developing a simple and relatively inexpensive ventilator as quickly as possible.

The coronavirus crisis means that many people have little or no work right now, or extra time on their hands because of cancelled appointments. For some of these people, this might be the perfect time to take an online course.

Container ships that aren’t fully loaded, congested locks resulting in long waits for vessels, suboptimal navigation of ships on rivers and fully loaded ships that cannot cope with low water levels. These are common problems on inland waterways. The Horizon 2020 programme ‘Novel inland waterway transport concepts for moving freight effectively’ (NOVIMOVE) is going to use a European grant of almost 9 million euros to conduct research on how to improve the logistics of this transport system.

Titanium dioxide (titania) thin films are commonly used in various types of solar cells. The fabrication methods that are currently used to create such titania films require high temperatures, as well as expensive, high-end technologies. Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) have now developed a fully organic method to engineer porous titania thin films at relatively low temperatures.

The City of The Hague and over twenty businesses and educational institutions will jointly educate, train and re-train thousands of people as ‘digital talents’