Dr. ir. Tempelman, E.

Erik Tempelman is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

Academic Background

Erik Tempelman (1969) was born in Vlissingen. Following his MSc at TU Delft Aerospace Engineering and PhD at TU Delft, he worked for DAF Trucks, TNO Science & Industry, and Koninklijke Nedschroef, always at the touch points of materials, manufacturing, and design. He joined the faculty of IDE in 2006, first as assistant professor, later as associate professor. During this time, Erik has also spent six months working part-time for Ultimaker.

Erik lives in Den Bosch with his wife Wilma and his children Lisa, Ava, and Aron. In his spare time, Erik enjoys yoga, playing guitar, and driving classic Mercedes cars.

Education

1999
PhD at Delft University of Technology
1994
MSc in Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft

Erik has also followed several post-academic courses, on topics such as failure analysis, project management, communication, and leadership.

Experience

Erik has 25+ years of experience with materials, manufacturing and design, across a wide range of products and markets. He has also completed several notable projects:

EU FP7 project Light.Touch.Matters
STW-funded project Nature Inspired Design

Together with Hugh Shercliff of Cambridge University and Bruno Ninaber van Eyben of Studio Ninaber, Erik has written the BSc-level textbook "Manufacturing and Design" (Elseviers, 1st edition 2014). This book is currently in use at several universities in Europe and the Americas. Furthermore, with Koos Eissen as illustrator, Erik has written “(Not) Safe For Designers: engineering essays on structures & materials”, available at www.boekengilde.nl. A second edition of this latest book is in preparation.

Specialisation / field of research

Erik works at the touch point of materials, manufacturing, sustainability, and design. He is associated with the PhD project of Stefan Heijboer at BMW, on design-driven innovation with haptic materials. Also, Erik is exploring the possible synergies between circular product design and the use of PLM systems. Renowned for his wide industry network, Erik enjoys bridging the gap between industry and academia – especially in relationship to start-ups. Part of his outreach is through writing: Erik’s contributions can be found with some regularity in the Dutch industry journal Constructeur, usually under the heading “NSFD”.

Lectures/Coaches students on

Erik is one of the coordinators of the IDE ACADEMY, the series of master-level, one-day workshops currently being enjoyed by our students. In this series, Erik contributes actively with workshops on i.a. innovation, reporting, and design for cost. Also, he delivers guest lectures in various other courses, such as the MVE programme (“Master Variant Engineers”) and the elective Initiate to Graduate, or ItG.

At IDE, Erik has coached more than 80 students during their MSc projects – mainly, but not exclusively, those from the IPD master program. He has developed a reputation for being a demanding coach who aims to get the most out of the project and the candidate, and employs a very personal style of coaching.

Secondary employment

Under the name “eriktempelman.com”, Erik runs his own consultancy. He specializes in engineering communication, DFMA, and innovation management.

Books

Manufacturing and Design

E. Tempelman, H. Shercliff, B. Ninaber van Eyben
ISBN: 978 00 8099 922 7

Published in 2014

Nature Inspired Design

Erik Tempelman, Bram van der Grinten, Ernst-Jan Mul, Ingrid de Pauw
ISBN: 978 94 6108 939 7
PDF available online

Published in 2015

NSFD: engineering essays on structures & materials

Erik Tempelman
ISBN: 9789464021134

Published in 2020