reading time: min

The science and “alchemy” of making sustainable steels

Maria Santofimia Navarro is world famous for her work on advanced high strength steels. Together with her team at TU Delft’s Faculty of Mechanical Maritime and Materials Engineering (3mE), Santofimia combines fundamental theoretical research, advanced simulation techniques and high-resolution experiments to explain how the structure of steel at the microscopic level has a huge influence on the physical properties of the material. With this new knowledge about the microstructure of materials, Santofimia is designing “greener”, more sustainable types of steel.

reading time: 5 min

Climate neuroscience for aviation

There is a knowledge gap when it comes to how non-CO2 emissions of aviation affect global warming. Jin Maruhashi modeled the global transport patterns of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and then used a neuroscience machine learning algorithm to find patterns in these data. It landed him the award for Best Climate Action Paper of the TU Delft.

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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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viewing time: 11 min

How to Print a Dinosaur

How to Print a Dinosaur? Find out how a combination of new and traditional techniques can be used to restore an ancient creature like never before!

Collection Climate Action

reading time: 5 min

LandShapes: made to feel real

Master’s student in industrial design Frederik Ueberschär used artificial intelligence to create non-existent satellite images of the earth’s surface in his interactive installation LANDSHAPES. People can change these landscapes, and in this playful way he wants to involve them emotionally in climate change.

reading time: min

In search of the plastic soup

To better understand the whereabouts of floating plastic soup, you need to investigate how the water moves at different depths. Angeliki Laskari, researcher of Multiphase Systems at TU Delft, therefore studies fluid dynamics, the science of the movement and flow of water. Her ultimate goal is to help predict how plastic spreads in water.

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.

Collection Climate Action

reading time: 4 min

Using smart technology to make fuel out of CO2

Too much CO2 in the air is currently causing a major problem: climate change. If it were up to Peyman Taheri, researcher at Materials Science and Engineering at TU Delft, we would be making smart use of surplus CO2 by converting it into a new fuel. A fuel that could power factories and send cars hurtling down the motorway.

reading time: 5 min

Getting it straight: bridges are becoming circular

A large number of bridges in the Netherlands are scheduled for large-scale maintenance work or replacement. In order to minimise the effect on the environment and bring down costs researcher Wenjun Cao is working on a model to assess the potential for circularity of these bridges. This will help the Netherlands to achieve its aim of a fully Circular Economy (CE) by 2050.

leestijd: 4 min

Op digitaal ziekenbezoek in Reinier de Graaf dankzij Delftse studenten

Vanwege strikte coronarichtlijnen is het voor veel patiënten in het Reinier de Graaf niet mogelijk om bezoek te ontvangen. Door alle drukte in het ziekenhuis kunnen verplegers oudere of zwakkere patiënten niet altijd helpen contact te hebben met hun naasten via welbekende middelen als WhatsApp of Skype. Delftse studenten ontwikkelden een tool die patiënt en familie toch bij elkaar brengt én het zorgpersoneel ontlast.

reading time: 5, 5 min

Concrete examples: a new start for used concrete

Concrete has been one of the most widely used construction materials in the world for decades. Despite this, concrete rubble is recycled in only very small amounts worldwide even though sand and gravel are becoming increasingly scarce and their exploitation is damaging to nature. As part of a European research project, students and staff from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment have come up with a range of ideas on what you can make using recycled concrete. From permeable paving to street furniture that can generate energy: concrete rubble has real potential.

reading time: 6 min

Making corrosion a soft target

Corrosion is a plague to aviation and countless other sectors worldwide. Paul Denissen is literally targeting this phenomenon: with his ‘Corrosion Imager’ he can display the presence of corrosion in high resolution and real-time.

reading time: 5, 5 min

And the winner is... three graduation research projects into circular building systems receive awards

Can the current system of linear production methods and consumption patterns be transformed into a circular economy with more value retention? The three winners of the first circularity prize for budding architects are convinced it is possible. For example, there is no need to throw out insulating glass because it has signs of wear and tear, and houses can be constructed of locally grown hemp.

reading time: 4 min

Understanding complex coral reef coasts

Fringing coral reefs provide a sheltered habitat for many sea animals and are a snorkelers’ paradise. But they also form a natural barrier which protects the shoreline and the area further inland. Experiments using 3D printed replicas of a coral are helping Marion Tissier gain an insight into how coral reefs influence and dampen wave energy.

Collection Climate Action

reading time: 6 min

Tasty vegetables from a smart greenhouse

A smart greenhouse that calculates when vegetables need water and more heat. That’s what professor Tamás Keviczky from TU Delft’s 3mE faculty is working on. This approach cuts costs and is good for the environment.

reading time: 4 min

Showcase ‘P-lab’: urban raw materials in a small-scale circular economy

Urban food and material chains contain huge amounts of valuable materials, a considerable proportion of which is still lost as waste. Take phosphorus for example, an indispensable and irreplaceable nutrient. Whilst the global supplies of phosphates contained in ores are steadily diminishing, we all excrete them in our urine where they return to the environment via sewers, mixed with other substances. Researchers from TU Delft demonstrate an alternative in the sea container used as a mobile urban living lab as was previously on display at the AMS Institute in Amsterdam.

reading time: 5 min

What can mussel shells teach us about the circular economy?

In a circular economy, design is about more than just creating a sustainable product. In this system based on eliminating waste and minimising the use of resources, the design process is aimed at preserving the value of products and materials and keeping them in the economic system for as long as possible. So how do you do that? PhD candidate Marita Sauerwein came up with a novel material based on ground mussel shells and showed through 3D printing technology that the end life of a product is really just the beginning.

reading time: 4 min

A supermodel for all the glaciers on Earth

The Dutch coastline is continually changing. Coastal engineer Sierd de Vries is using ventilators, wind tunnels, drones, jet skis and laser scanners to gain an insight into the development of coastal areas and dune formation. He can often be found counting grains of sand.
Gewoontes doorbreken voor een groene wereld

Collection Climate Action

reading time: 4 min

Breaking habits for a green world

We separate our waste, take shorter showers and there has been an increase in roof-mounted solar panels. Climate psychologist at TU Delft Gerdien de Vries, sees that in the Netherlands we are trying to put our greenest foot forward.

reading time: 4 min

Counting grains of sand to understand coastal dunes

The Dutch coastline is continually changing. Coastal engineer Sierd de Vries is using ventilators, wind tunnels, drones, jet skis and laser scanners to gain an insight into the development of coastal areas and dune formation. He can often be found counting grains of sand.

reading time: 5 min

What is the coolest tree?

On a hot, windless day, a leafy neighbourhood may feel 10 to 15°C cooler than an urban area that is more exposed to the sun. Trees thus play a key role in preventing heat stress and the design of climate-proof and healthier cities. “Although we already understand a great deal about the performance of tree species in the built environment, there is very little empirical knowledge about their cooling capacity.”, says researcher Lotte Dijkstra. In order to determine how physical properties such as the trunk and crown shape and the leaf characteristics influence the local air temperature the research team designed and built special ‘climate arboreta’ with sensors installed in each of the 75 tree species.

reading time: 6, 5 min

Data drives the circular economy

More than nine million kilometres. That is the distance covered every year transporting Amsterdam's waste from source to its final destination, which is usually a waste processor. This is one of the insights gained from the monitor platform that has been developed in Delft, with which governments will soon be able to analyse and optimise their waste streams.

reading time: 8 min

The first Flying-V test flight

Since 2017, a team of researchers from TU Delft has been working on a new, more sustainable type of passenger aircraft, the Flying-V. After the research phase, July saw an exciting and significant next step in the programme: the scale model’s first test flight. Would the aircraft remain stable when airborne, even at low speeds?

reading time: min

From the plane into the train

reading time: 5 min

Sand on the horizon

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: 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

reading time: 8 min

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

leestijd: 7 min

When Open Source and Open Science go hand-in-hand

reading time: 2 min

From sheep’s wool to spatial fabric

reading time: 3 min

Urban food production on the right track

reading time: 2, 5 min

Urban transformation as an act of preservation

reading time: 6 min

The women on a mission to reduce space debris

reading time: 2, 5 min

How to redesign insulated glass units for disassembly

reading time: 6 min

Medical experts and engineers speak each other’s language in Delft

reading time: 6 min

The Future Ground: Planning cities for an uncertain future
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