reading time: 4, 5 min

Entrepeneurial thinking is a must for innovation

"Not everyone has to be an entrepreneur, but you need to be able to think like an entrepeneur." Only then will much-needed innovations in the built environment become a reality. With the successful BK-Launch Platform and plans for the future, Professor of Construction Management and Entrepreneurship Hans Wamelink is putting the importance of entrepreneurial thinking on the map.

leestijd: 7 min

Sustainable artificial intelligence: from ChatGPT to green AI

A decade ago, Luís Cruz worked on developing software tools to bring artificial intelligence (AI) to smartphones. It quickly triggered the question of energy efficiency. Not with the noble goal of making them more sustainable but to prevent them from draining the battery too quickly. Cruz went searching for tools and knowledge, but encountered an empty field. “It made me realize there was a need for research,” he says. Soon thereafter he started his PhD research project on ‘green software’, starting simple by studying the energy efficiency of basic mobile apps. As an assistant professor at TU Delft, Cruz remains passionate about sustainable software, specifically AI.

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read time: 4 min

Hydrogen leads the way to a climate neutral Europe without energy poverty

Energy is a driver of economic activity, personal development, and social participation in civic life. That is why, for professor of Smart Energy Systems Zofia Lukszo, the energy transition is about much more than reducing CO2 emissions. ‘Our future energy system should not only be sustainable, but also inclusive – dependable, available and affordable for everyone.’

Reading time: 7 min

Thick as a brick? How small cracks can cause big problems

Will those cracked walls hold up? Is it safe to walk on that quay? To find the answer to these questions assistant professor of Applied Mechanics Rita Esposito studies brick masonry, often using actual pieces of damaged houses and centuries-old bridges.

reading time: 5 min

Pushing the boundaries of microscopy to understand cells better

Kristin Grußmayer pushes the boundaries of microscopy with new techniques to study the exact location of molecules, and to make extremely fast 3D images of the cell. Her research group will take a look at the early stage of Huntington’s disease on a very small scale, now possible thanks to these advanced microscopy methods: “One of the biggest challenges in the super resolution field is how to work with living cells while making sure they stay happy.”

Robotic support improves rehabilitation

Floating wind turbines change everything

In order to become climate neutral by 2050, the share of renewable energy generated at sea will need to increase significantly. Floating wind turbines, solar panels and tidal power plants will play a crucial role in this.

reading time: 10 min

Synthetic data for a clean digital future

The synthetic data of Lydia Chen makes our digital future better and cleaner: more privacy for users, and more utility for organisations.

reading time: 4, 5 min

With each other, for each other

Building more homes without rethinking the way we live together will not solve the fundamental issues with the housing crisis. Besides more quality homes for lower and middle incomes, we also need housing solutions that are sustainable, foster strong social connections and are affordable.

reading time: 6 min

Understanding the world through sound

reading time: 5 min

Circular area development: pioneering on a large scale

“We are pioneering on a large scale. Political backing, local support, time and physical space are essential if a circular area development is to have any chance of success”, explains professor Ellen van Bueren. Within the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability, she has been leading the research project ‘Circular area development Binckhorst – The Hague’. She collaborates with the province of Zuid-Holland, and regional businesses and universities to accelerate the circular economy. Her goal is to draw up a set of scientifically based do's and don'ts for a circular area development by the end of this year.

Reading time: 3 min

Surgery for all

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reading time: 7 min

Knit to find the perfect fit

The bearing structure of a building made out of knitted material? Assistant Professor of Parametric Structural Design and Digital Fabrication shows that unusual building structures can be created more efficiently and more sustainably using 3D knitted textiles. She hopes her innovative approach will inspire new generations of designers and engineers to think outside the box.

reading time: 2 min

From sheep’s wool to spatial fabric

Disposable clothing made in low-wage countries is anything but sustainable. Yet it is this fast fashion that dominates our shopping streets. Jin-Ah Duijghuisen is committed to influencing this consumer culture for the better by means of spatial design. She put the textile production chain under the magnifying glass. For her master thesis, she explored how textile production in the Province of Noord-Brabant is related to the configuration and use of the landscape.

reading time: 3 min

Urban food production on the right track

"Everything revolves around food.” When Adrianna Karnaszewska was asked to zoom in on metropolitan London she saw an opportunity to utilise leftover spaces near railways by transforming them into ‘foodscapes’. She created a network of multifunctional hubs and productive sites that constitute an urban food supply chain bringing the production of food close to home.

reading time: 2, 5 min

Urban transformation as an act of preservation

‘Gleaning’, which means ‘collecting leftovers from the fields after harvest’ was the central theme of last year’s Urban Architecture graduation studio. As a design approach to the redevelopment of post-industrial areas it inspired Alex Kirschstein to imagine and plan an elaborate transformation of part of a former industrial site in the city of Maastricht, reusing material stock on site and enabling citizen empowerment.

reading time: 2, 5 min

How to redesign insulated glass units for disassembly

Insulated double and triple glazing have enabled the design and construction of fully glazed facades with minimised thermal losses. The insulated glass units (IGUs), however, still serve as products with a limited lifespan, often ending up as demolition waste. In her Building Technology master thesis Sofia Kouvela designs for disassembly as a means to improve the end-of-life of IGUs, increasing the potential for reuse and recycling of glass.

reading time: 4, 5 min

Designing in extremes: sustainable for users, educational for students

Creating a design for a location in extreme conditions is not only challenging, it's also hugely educational. By having students do designs in places that are incredibly hot and dry or where there are frequent hurricanes, lecturer and architect Job Schroën encourages them to think outside the box and explore sustainable solutions. “Giving students freedom and having faith in them is all the motivation they need.”

reading time: 4 min

Putting the urban mobility jigsaw together, piece by piece

Having your own car, bike or moped may be convenient but it’s also clogging up our city centres. Shared mobility can make cities easier to navigate and improve air quality. But adopting it efficiently is easier said than done. Maaike Snelder is helping local authorities to piece together the urban mobility jigsaw.

reading time: 10 min

The battle of the Amsterdam quayside bulge

The canals and quaysides in historic cities such as Amsterdam, Delft and Utrecht make a pretty picture. In order for these often busy cities to remain safe, the quay walls, some over 300 years old and built on wooden piles, need to be well maintained. But which ones to tackle first? And which quay walls still pass the test? PhD candidate Mart-Jan Hemel is investigating the condition of these centuries old quay walls by doing exactly what the local authorities are trying to prevent: put pressure on them until they collapse.

reading time: min

Building differently to combat aircraft noise

Aircraft noise around airports is a major problem, and a persistent one. Researcher Martijn Lugten asked himself whether the way we build houses might hold the key to solving this problem.

Collection Climate Action

reading time: 5 min

Compact nature for the compact city

Urban dwellers need green public spaces. To put oxygen in their lungs and improve their mental health. To capture carbon dioxide and mitigate extreme weather. To ensure balance between the built and the natural environments. But in densely built-up cities there is little space for greenery at ground level. So, what can be done about this? For his graduation project, Menno de Roode studied and designed compact urban public green spaces: “Following nature as far as possible enables you to avoid unnecessary maintenance and management.”

reading time: 4 min

Shelf-stocking robot working independently

A robot that helps store employees by moving independently through the supermarket and shelving products in their proper place. According to researcher Carlos Hernández Corbato of the Department of Cognitive Robotics, this may be possible in the future. But the robot must be able to adapt to the dynamic and challenging conditions in a supermarket.

reading time: 10 min

Innovation needs a place to grow

Mitigating the impact of climate change, facilitating the energy transition, solving the housing crisis… The built environment needs to address pretty big challenges, which ask for innovative solutions. Students at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment have plenty of good ideas to create the necessary innovations, but how can their ideas successfully evolve?

reading time: 4, 5 min

With each other, for each other

Building more homes without rethinking the way we live together will not solve the fundamental issues with the housing crisis. Besides more quality homes for lower and middle incomes, we also need housing solutions that are sustainable, foster strong social connections and are affordable.

reading time: 5 min

The wind app that puts the wind in your sails

Catching the breeze may bring you gold but sail too close to the wind and you’ll miss the boat. Combined with a sailor’s intuition meteorologist Sukanta Basu’s highly detailed wind forecast may well help the Dutch sailing team secure a win at the Olympics this year.

Collection Climate Action

reading time: 5 min

Sand on the horizon

It’s a decade since the creation of the Sand Motor, an artificial sand bank off the North Sea coast. What happens to a natural system following human intervention on such a large scale.

reading time: 9 min

‘As a student, you simply cannot get closer to the professional field’

Fitting new infrastructure into our densely built-up country is becoming increasingly complex. The Integrated Infrastructure Design minor teaches students how to handle this complexity. “This helps us to train a completely different type of engineer,” says minor coordinator Hans de Boer.

reading time: min

A giant pink rabbit on Grote Markt

A 7 metre tall pink origami rabbit has hopped its way over to the Grote Markt, making Delft’s living room its temporary hutch from May 30. The animal was designed with the Delft Fringe Festival in mind by two TU Delft computer science students. ‘We were positively shocked when we heard that we, two computer science students, had come up with the winner,’ Bartek Kotlicki from Poland and Irishman Ben Provan-Bessell said.

reading time: 5 min

Sweet solutions to a salty problem

Some sixty kilometres, all the way up to Gouda, that’s how far inland the Rotterdam Waterway has been carrying salty North Sea water over the last few years.
Salt intrusion in Dutch rivers is a growing problem for the country’s drinking water supply and agriculture, not only in the Dutch delta but in deltas worldwide. Julie Pietrzak is trying to find better ways of predicting and combating the problem.

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reading time: 4 min

Dutch lessons in the Chinese Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta in the province of Guangdong in southern China is one of the most rapidly urbanising deltas in the world. More than sixty million people now live in an area approximately half the size of the Netherlands. The pace of developments, combined with the consequences of climate change, are creating a complex set of issues. How can a small country like the Netherlands help out?

reading time: min

Hit the roads safely with autonomous vehicles

When the time comes for autonomous cars to hit the roads, they’ll have to take other road users into account. For example, they’ll need to stop when a cyclist abruptly turns. Laura Ferranti is studying how this can be best achieved. Even when roads are packed with traffic.

reading time: min

From the plane into the train

reading time: 5 min

Sand on the horizon

reading time: 4, 5 min

Entrepeneurial thinking is a must for innovation

leestijd: 7 min

Sustainable artificial intelligence: from ChatGPT to green AI

leestijd: 7 min

'Elderly' first Dutch nanosatellite celebrates fifteenth birthday

reading time: 7 min

Knit to find the perfect fit

reading time: 3 min

The next steps towards circular renovation

leestijd: 7 min

An All-In Approach to Electrical Engineering

Is there life elsewhere in our solar system?

reading time: 6 min

Mars is not a back-up option

reading time: min

The science and “alchemy” of making sustainable steels

reading time: 5 min

Climate neuroscience for aviation

reading time: 6 min

An additional wind turbine out of thin air

reading time: 5 min

How do you make an open and paved urban space climate-proof?

reading time: 6 min

Attractive public transport starts with a good design of the station

reading time: 4 min

The importance of Open Science for the maritime industry

reading time: 6 min

Thinking about tomorrow’s energy consumption in Dutch cities

reading time: 4 min

A safe and just algorithm? Start with a systems perspective

reading time: 4 min

Ringing the changes for a circular construction sector

reading time: 10 min

Balancing water, food and energy to drive sustainable development

read time: 4 min

Hydrogen leads the way to a climate neutral Europe without energy poverty

reading time: 4 min

When frustration leads to inspiration for Open Science
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