Research News

Large power failures or heavy storms demonstrate how vulnerable our infrastructure is. The four technical universities in the Netherlands (Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Twente, and Wageningen University and Research) are joining forces in the field of Resilience Engineering. On 7 June, the plans for the centre have been explained during an international launch event in Rotterdam.

For the first time, the 3mE Faculty is hosting the special international Reconfigurable Mechanisms Conference (ReMAR). From 20 until 22 June, scientists and engineers from all over the world involved in the area of mechanisms will come to the 3mE Faculty to reveal their theories, prototypes and designs.

This month, NWO awarded five researchers at TU Delft a Vidi grant worth 800,000 euros. From the 3mE faculty, Amir Zadpoor, professor of Biomaterials & Tissue Biomechanics at the Department of BioMechanical Engineering, was honoured with an award.

Starting the 21st of May Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) provided a training to lecturers of various Rwanda knowledge institutes on entrepreneurship focusing on the 10 step Valorisation Canvas. The training was provided by Frederieke Muijs (Valorisation Centre) and Ellen van Andel (Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship) and requested by the SEAD project aimed at strengthening capacity to achieve sustainable food security in Rwanda, funded by Nuffic. A week filled with various activities ranging from practicing using tools like the Business Model Canvas to receiving guest lectures from entrepreneurs in Rwanda.

Delft University of Technology today announced their participation in the University Blockchain Research Initiative, a new program founded by Ripple to support academic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments.

Op 30 mei organiseerde het TU Delft Urban Energy Platform het symposium Urban Energy Innovation. Het realiseren van een klimaat-neutrale gebouwde omgeving is een grote uitdaging. Op dit symposium is besproken welk onderzoek en innovatie hiervoor nodig is. De mooie Mekelzaal was volledig gevuld met 150 in- en externe experts.

Extreme hydrological events are generally predicted to become more frequent and damaging in Europe due to warming climate. Researchers from TU Delft and Rice University (Houston) have now shown that, correcting for economic and demographic changes, there has been no increase in financial losses and fatalities from floods in the last 150 years. They have reported on their findings in Nature Communications.

On Tuesday 22 May the Process & Energy lab was filled to the brim with e-Refinery. This brand-new consortium will help to electrify and decarbonise the chemical and energy industries with its unique integrated approach, ranging from materials to processes and their upscaling.

‘How does one control the dosing of 0.000000000000001 litre of fluid from a hollow needle? We took the first steps by combining our expertise in micro/nanosystem design and control engineering.’

Nano engineers Ivan Buijnsters and Hassan HosseinNia (Precision and Microsystems Engineering) have both received an Applied and Engineering Sciences grant for their research projects in the area of nanotechnology.

Op dinsdag 22 mei stond het Process & Energy lab bol van e-Refinery: hèt gloednieuwe consortium dat met een unieke integrale aanpak, van materiaal tot en met processen en opschaling, de chemische –en energie-industrie helpt te elektrificeren en decarboniseren.

Technology such as MRI helps us to understand the processes that take place in biomass when we purify waste water with micro-organisms. We can use this knowledge to extract more energy and resources (and new pollution) from our own waste water. But we also need new knowledge to tackle problems in the rapidly expanding world cities, where waste water purification is often a relatively new concept. We can and must get much more out of our waste water. This is argued by Professor Merle de Kreuk, who will give her inaugural address at TU Delft on Wednesday, 23 May.

Rienk van der Slikke has developed a technique to monitor individual wheelchair mobility performance using small sensors. On Friday 25 May, he will be awarded his PhD at TU Delft for his work on the subject.