Archive

The discovery of the Cas9 protein has been of great value to medical science. It has simplified gene editing tremendously, and may even make it possible to eliminate many hereditary diseases in the near future. Using Cas9, researchers have the ability to cut DNA in a cell to correct mutated genes, or paste new pieces of genetic material into the newly opened spot. Initially, the Crispr-Cas9 system seemed to be extremely accurate. But unfortunately, it is now apparent that Cas9 sometimes also cuts other DNA sequences similar to the exact sequences it was programmed to target. Scientists at Delft University of Technology have developed a mathematical model that explains why Cas9 cuts some DNA sequences while leaving others alone.

In her search to determine the optimal speed skating technique, doctoral candidate Eline van der Kruk developed a dynamic computer model of a skater and instrumented clap skates. In the future, these will make it possible to offer skaters and coaches real-time visual feedback during training sessions. On Thursday 8 February, the day before the start of the Winter Olympics, Van der Kruk will be awarded her PhD at TU Delft for her work on this subject.

On Tuesday 27 March, TU Delft will launch the Delft Bioengineering Institute. Main speaker is Clive Brown, Chief Technology Officer at DNA sequencing specialist Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

On 12 January, during the 176th Dies Natalis, the new strategic plan for TU Delft was presented, the Strategic Framework 2018-2024.

ATMOS UAV, a start-up company from the faculty of Aerospace Engineering, announced on 31 January that their drone Marlyn was used to chart the tropical island of Silhouette in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

This week it’s Valentine’s Day as well as Chinese New Year. A popular week for flying sky lanterns. How safe are they and how do you make a risk-model for them? Michiel Schuurman and Derek Gransden looked into it.

Two groups of scientists from TU Delft in the field of quantum nanotechnology have, independently of one another, found a way to convert spin information to light. The groups are led by professors Kobus Kuipers and Lieven Vandersypen, who both work at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience. Their research has been published in Science. The discovery by Kuipers can lead to green ICT, for example energy-efficient data processing in data centres. The aim of Vandersypen's research is to allow large numbers of qubits on a chip to work together, bringing the quantum computer one step closer.

The first GROW project, ‘Gentle Driving of Piles’, received the approval of the Dutch RVO for granting a subsidy of 2.7 million euro. This project consortium is led by TU Delft and together with the GROW partners Boskalis, Deltares, DOT, Eneco, Sif, TNO, ECN, Shell, IHC, SHL and Van Oord, they will develop and test a novel pile installation method for offshore wind turbines.

In the future, a virtual coach could make a positive contribution to the therapy of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as war veterans or people who suffered sexual abuse in their youth. Such a coach could motivate people to persist with therapy and help them to recall traumatic memories as part of exposure therapy. The virtual coach was developed by Myrthe Tielman, who will be awarded her PhD at TU Delft on Thursday, 25 January.

Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, who has designed outfits for Lady Gaga and Beyonce, has presented a dress at the Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie in Paris that was partly developed by TU Delft scientists.

Detecting a hidden layer in a top work of art by Rembrandt, identifying metal fatigue in ships, predicting arteriosclerosis: these are just a few of the possible applications of Smart*Light, a synchrotron that fits on a table. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology and Delft University of Technology will build and develop this X-ray source within a consortium of other universities and companies. The high-intensity X-ray beam that this device will produce is now only available via large, expensive and scarce facilities. A symposium on Tuesday 23 January gets the research project officially under way.

Popular culture characters, such as superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Batman and Hawkeye, can provide a unique and engaging platform for the communication of difficult scientific concepts. In the classroom, these characters can be used to communicate learning objectives to students in an interesting, fun, and accessible manner by taking advantage of student familiarity with these superhero characters. Hawkeye, a member of the Avengers, is one such superhero who can be utilized by educators, as Barry Fitzgerald of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, The Netherlands) argues in the article ‘Using Hawkeye from the Avengers to communicate on the eye’, published in the journal Advances in Physiology Education.

In 2012, the world of physics was rocked by the first observation of the exotic Majorana quasiparticle, in Leo Kouwenhoven’s laboratory. These particles are a promising candidate for robust quantum bits in a topological quantum computer of the future. A major challenge that lies ahead is how to manufacture usable, error-free quantum chips. By using new manufacturing methods, researchers from QuTech, in collaboration with TU Eindhoven, have successfully observed Majoranas in significantly improved conditions. This rules out alternative explanations and also represents another step towards the topological quantum computer of the future. The researchers published their findings today in Nature Nanotechnology.

Delft University Fund launches a crowdfunding platform to enable extraordinary projects at TU Delft.

TU Delft kicks the New Year off with a great offer on online courses. And especially for alumni we have a gift that fits with the New Year’s resolutions: the first 100 participants have the opportunity to follow an online course with 175 euro (or a 25%) discount

PhD candidate Pieter Maljaars and Mirek Kaminski, professor of ship and offshore structures at the Department of Maritime and Transport Technology, have made an important breakthrough in their Greenpop research project.

Modern mechanical watches are still operating on the so-called ‘balance and hairspring’ principle, a time keeping device that was invented by Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens in 1675. The LVMH Watch Division and its R&D Science Institute, Delft University of Technology and TU Delft spin-off Flexous joined forces to develop a completely new regulator technology. The technique is now brought to the market with the ZENITH Defy Lab watch.

It is impossible to imagine the healthcare sector without medical technology. Innovative diagnosis and treatment methods call for a new type of medical professional; someone with both medical and technical knowledge, who can form a link between patients and technology.

On February 11th and 12th, 2017 the “Hackaton for Humanitarian Aid” was organised by PwC, UNHCR and UNOCH in Amsterdam. EPA student and alumni teams participated in the two-day contest. EPA alumni Tariq Abdul Muhaimin and Naveen Srivatsav were members of the overall winning team and will be presenting their invention at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva.

What do the circular economy and improving the Dutch healthcare system have in common? They are the focus areas of the SMO Promovendi Programme, that helps PhD candidates develop transferable skills while they work to solve societal challenges.

TU Delft researchers have completed a detailed account of the global potential of hydropower. The results of their research were published in the scientific journal PLOS One on Wednesday, 8 February 2017.

Last year alone, over 200 million people were directly affected by natural or man-made disasters worldwide. According to one of the leading re-assurance companies, total economic losses from natural and man-made disasters in 2016 were estimated to be at least $158 billion. Not surprisingly, researchers, humanitarian organizations and local and global policy makers are trying to harness the power of new data and information technologies to better comprehend the causes and mitigate the consequences of disasters.

In the framework of the Global Research Fellowships Initiative of the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) a PhD position of 4 years is available at the Dept. of Chemical Engineering (in collaboration with the Dept. of Precision and Microsystems Eng.) on the development of the fundamentals of a lab-on-a-chip platform to screen tropical fevers such as Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue.

This exhibition in the TU Delft Library is based on the dissertation ‘Making Fashion Sustainable – The Role of Designers’ by PhD alumnus Natascha van der Velden of the faculty of IDE. With the installations and exhibited objects, Natascha aims to inform the public about several aspects related to the (sustainable) life cycle of clothing and to inspire designers who are willing to take up a different role from many of their predecessors to become a frontrunner of sustainable fashion.

Last November an enthusiastic group of 19 PhD’s started in the HCP Vitality Program for PhD’s. On Monday March 30th, the next group will start (in English, max 20 participants, first come first serve). This program is offered to you by TU Delft HR (Human Resource department) and the Graduate School to help you with your health, energy and performance management. The program helps PhD candidates to develop better skills for balance and recovery: Combining sprints AND the marathon.

Our oceans represent an enormous untapped resource of clean and renewable energy. In this new international course you will learn about the latest innovations taking place in tidal energy, wave energy, Salinity Gradient Power and OTEC.

This week all TU Delft Employees will receive an email from IVA Onderwijs, inviting you to take part in the university-wide 2017 TU Delft Employee Survey that is held every three years. This is your chance to tell us how you feel about your work experience and vitality and what you think of the quality of support you receive from the organisation.

As the number of available places in courses is limited, we ask you only to enrol in a course if you can commit to attending the full course.

On Friday 20 January the Board for Doctorates of TU Delft conferred its 8000th doctoral degree to Dr. Hayo Hendrikse. He received his degree with ‘cum laude’ for his PhD thesis on Ice-induced vibrations of vertical sided offshore structures.

We have updated the ‘Doctoral Defence Timeline’. It provides you with a summary of the final steps of your PhD programme, as described in the Doctoral Regulations.

TU Delft project assists local stakeholders in developing joint vision for the Zambezi River Millions of people in Mozambique are dependent on the Zambezi River, which rises in Zambia and flows into the Indian Ocean via Mozambique. The many varied and often also conflicting interests make water management of this river a difficult task. This leads to such problems as a shortage of water for irrigation in the dry season, and flooded villages in the wet season. In January 2017, TU Delft and partner organisations started the NICHE project Capacity Building for Integrated Water Resources Management in order to assist the river's stakeholders in developing a joint vision for the river. The project is also aimed at professionalising local knowledge of water management.