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: 5 min

TU Delft and Intel drink a toast to the qubit

The new building blocks of the quantum computer of the future are being produced in a present-day chip factory. Researchers from QuTech — a TU Delft and TNO collaboration — and Intel showed that this is possible.

reading time: min

Deep learning for complex networks

From image recognition to medical diagnostics, Machine Learning has a huge impact. Yet Elvin Isufi adds an extra dimension, enabling its analyzing power to complex networks such as recommender systems, and more down-to-earth: water management.

reading time: min

Improving biotech production with real-time testing

reading time: 5 min

From CO2 to plastics and laptops

CO2 conversion by means of electrocatalysis is where renewable energy meets renewable feedstocks meets CO2 emission reduction.

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: 5 min

The magic of catalysis for CO2 conversion

Catalysis is the driving force behind the production of fertiliser, which allowed the world population to triple over the past seven decades. And now, it will be just as essential in tackling the global challenge of CO2 emissions.

reading time: min

Inverse modelling – for improved medical imaging and much more

Hanne Kekkonen specialises in the mathematics used to solve inverse problems. Applications include medical imaging, climate change, the evolution of competing languages, materials science and many more.

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reading time: 6 min

Solving the worldwide bottleneck in nuclear medicine

Radionuclides are essential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases, because they can detect and destroy specific tumour cells. Yet only a handful of nuclear reactors in the world produce the bulk of these radionuclides. Robin de Kruijff works to solve this medical bottleneck, by developing new ways to produce radionuclides to make sure they become more widely available for medical hospitals and clinics.

reading time: 6 min

Delft researcher streamlines the path to Olympic success

Imagine being able to launch a satellite that would fit in your pocket and send it into space. It wouldn't only be cheap, it would also enable whole swarms of satellites to work together. A swarm would give a much clearer picture of the radiation in space and the atmosphere around planet Earth. Early January 2022 the mini satellite of Alessandra Menicucci’s team was launched with a Falcon 9 rocket in the Transporter-3 mission of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral. The team hopes they will be able to breathe life into one of the world’s smallest satellites in space.

leestijd: 9 min

A geothermal research well on TU Delft's premises

Some ten years ago a group of TU Delft students got the idea of realizing a geothermal well at the university campus. What at first seemed like a wild plan was set into motion when it became clear the campus grounds were in fact an ideal location. Now, for theme leader Phil Vardon things are almost about to get real. After years of measuring, liaising and researching, detailed preparations to make it a reality are in full flow now. “This geothermal source on our campus will become one of the world’s biggest hotspots for research into geothermal energy.”

reading time: 6 min

“We have to close the knowledge gap on ventilation now”

What Professor Philo Bluyssen had been advocating since the beginning of the pandemic, finally happened at the press conference in July 2021. By adding a ventilation icon, the Dutch government
embraced the fact that Covid-19 can also spread by means of aerosols. While it is a victory that ventilation is now the fourth basic measure, we still have a long way to go according to the professor of indoor environment.

reading time: 4, 5 min

Ultimate challenge: to make 7 million buildings energy neutral on time

Contentious. That is an apt description of the Climate Agreement’s requirement of achieving a near-zero energy status in the built environment by 2050. How is this supposed to work for the approximately 7 million existing homes and other buildings? Henk Visscher, Professor of Housing Quality and Process Innovation, advocates an active role for scientists in the much-needed innovation. “We need drivers who can make processes better, easier and less expensive.”

reading time: min

The landslide forecast coming to you from space

Watching time: 12 min

ESP Lab - Lucia Beloqui Larumbe, Power Electronics

Four designers from Delft University of Technology travelled to Lake Victoria, Tanzania and partnered with Sagar Energy Solutions to design a solar-powered fishing lamp for the night fishing industry. This effort aims to put an end to the reliance on dangerous and expensive kerosene lanterns.

Watching time: 12 min

ESP Lab - Peter Palensky, Digital Technologies

Four designers from Delft University of Technology travelled to Lake Victoria, Tanzania and partnered with Sagar Energy Solutions to design a solar-powered fishing lamp for the night fishing industry. This effort aims to put an end to the reliance on dangerous and expensive kerosene lanterns.

Watching time: 12 min

ESP Lab – Miro Zeman, Photovoltaics

Four designers from Delft University of Technology travelled to Lake Victoria, Tanzania and partnered with Sagar Energy Solutions to design a solar-powered fishing lamp for the night fishing industry. This effort aims to put an end to the reliance on dangerous and expensive kerosene lanterns.

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reading time: 4 min

Wheelchair owner and companion next to each other thanks to wheelchair attachment

A standard wheelchair is pushed, but if you walk behind it as an attendant, it’s sometimes difficult to keep contact with the person sitting in it, even though it’s a necessity. There’s probably a technical solution to this kind of problem, but then the right people have to know about it.

reading time: 4 min

Delft research unravels mystery of motion of cilia

The cilia – tiny hairs – inside our body are important to our health. They help move fluids, such as phlegm from our lungs. Eduardo Gutiérrez Prieto, a master’s student in Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of 3mE at TU Delft, explains through his research how cilia acquire their motion and how multiple of them can synchronize. This insight could lead to the more effective treatment of various illnesses. For example the treatment of smoker’s cough or other diseases of the respiratory system.

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.

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reading time: 7 min

The third dimension in tissue culture

After two life-changing moves, Angelo Accardo is now exactly where he wants to be. He is developing engineered nanoscaffolds, in which human tissue can grow as in nature. It opens up a world of applications for neural disease modelling.

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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