SPECIAL EDITION 4 JULY 2016
Independent magazine
Delft Global Initiative:
‘You really need to work together’ Campus Plan
The changing landscape of TU Delft
IS ENGLISH TAKING OVER?
4 JULY 2016
10 COVER
TEACHING IN ENGLISH More TU Delft programmes will be taught in English, but not everyone is happy about it. Delta takes a look at the arguments on both sides of the issue.
14 INTERVIEW
NICK VAN DE GIESEN
Delft Global Initiative aims to connect people in science to solve problems in developing countries. Chairman Nick van de Giesen shares what it’s all about.
18 MORE 04 06 08 09 17 20 23
Column News Master Since You Asked Sudoku Science News Survival Guide
REPORTING
CAMPUS PLAN TU Delft’s landscape combines historical buildings with state of the art facilities. Here’s a look at the past, present and future of campus.
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COVER “The original plan for this photo was to show a large British flag in front of the library, to symbolise English at the university. After many, many takes, our Delta intern Annemijn Smid wrapped the flag around her shoulders as she was walking away. And the photographer realised this was a much more striking shot.� (Photographer Marcel Krijger)
COLOPHON EDITORIAL STAFF Frank Nuijens (editor-in-chief), Saskia Bonger, Tomas van Dijk, Dorine van Gorp, Molly Quell, Connie van Uffelen, Jos Wassink, Katja Wijnands SPECIAL EDITION EDITORIAL TEAM Molly Quell, Heather Montague Caroline Vermeulen
PHOTOS Marcel Krijger, Sam Rentmeester CONCEPT AND DESIGN Maters & Hermsen, Leiden LAY-OUT Liesbeth van Dam, Saskia de Been ADDRESS Universiteitsbibliotheek, Prometheusplein 1, 2628 ZC Delft, 015 278 4848, delta@tudelft.nl ADVERTISEMENTS H&J Uitgevers, 010 451 5510, delta@henjuitgevers.nl PRINTER Quantes Grafimedia B.V. Oplage 4.500 Year 48 ISSN 2213 8838 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter on the website. MORE INFORMATION ON www.delta.tudelft.nl/colofon This edition of Delta was paid for, in part, by the Graduate School, the Alumni Office and the University Corporate Office.
RESPOND!
American physicist and winner of the 1997 Nobel Physics prize Stephen Chu was the guest speaker at Delft Nobel Evening 2016. A professor of Physics and Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford University and former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chu presented on low cost ways to transition to renewable energy systems in response to climate change and global warming. The event, organised by the TU Delft Process Technology Institute, took place at the Aula on June 24th. (MV)
Delta Weekly Podcast Too busy to read an entire Delta? You can check our weekly podcast with a new edition every week. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and wherever other fine podcasts are available. https://soundcloud.com/tudelta
Inaugural address of BK Dean
The best way to prepare for the future is to start right now believes Peter Russell, the only non-Dutch dean at TU Delft. In his inaugural lecture, he shared his key ideas for the future of the faculty. delta.tudelft.nl/31294
EWI-facade
With the future of the EWI building uncertain, the university is planning to lease the facade to external companies who will be responsible for maintaining and renovating the iconic red and blue design. delta.tudelft.nl/31296
Supporting Kenyan employees
Unemployment is a huge problem in Kenya. Even the most educated have a tough time finding a job. This Dutch start-up wants to change that. delta.tudelft.nl/31805
iGEM
iGEM, the biggest competition in synthetic biology, challenges contestants to solve a societal issue by making a design using micro-organisms. The team representing TU Delft is currently working on bio-optics. With an autonomous working cell, they want to make small bio-lasers and bio-lenses. delta.tudelft.nl/31295
Photo: Sam Rentmeester
CONTRIBUTORS Saskia Bonger, Deirdre Casella, Ailie Conor, Brandon Hartley, Folkert van der Meulen Bosma, Heather Montague, Molly Quell, Annemijn Smid, Caroline Vermeulen, Marco Villares
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Column Molly Quell The foundation of friendship A few weeks ago, an English-language newspaper based in Amsterdam sent out a survey request, asking internationals what they thought about making friends with the Dutch. Unsurprising, since amongst internationals living in the Netherlands, the most common complaints are the weather, the food and making friends with Dutch people. It’s not just expats. TU Delft has been trying for years to better integrate the student body. In the past few years, the International Office has worked with the organisers of the OWee week to combine activities. Numerous buddy programmes have been established. And yet, the complaints continue. The most common refrain is that the Dutch made their friends in primary school and, frankly, they aren’t interested in expanding their social circle. I once suggested to a Dutch acquaintance who was lamenting his lack of romantic interests that perhaps he should join a sports team or an organisation of some kind. My argument being that if he expanded his social network, he might meet someone. “I don’t need more friends,” he replied. In a small country, I suppose it’s true that the Dutch maintain their friendships longer. And perhaps, by the time you’re an adult, you simply have a full social calendar. But I don’t think that’s the entire problem. I have Dutch colleagues who have moved from Limburg to Utrecht and from Rotterdam to Deventer. You aren’t popping back in for coffee with your old friends regularly over those distances. And I have Dutch friends who became close with other parents when they had their own children or who changed jobs and became friends with colleagues. There is some churn in the Dutch friendship environment. The question I always have for internationals lamenting their lack of Dutch friends is why would anyone want to be friends with you? Which is, perhaps, more harsh than I intend. I’m sure they are perfectly great people to be friends with. But no one bases friendships on someone in a crowd randomly declaring themselves to be a good person to befriend. All of my friendships, yes even my many Dutch friendships, developed through mutual interests. I have close friends who I met through work. I have many close friends who I met through the local pub. Some from yoga. Some are neighbours. But, at the end of the day, we all had a reason to talk to each other. So we did. I applaud the efforts the university is undertaking to improve integration. The more diverse your friend group is, the better. But if you’re a new international who wants to make Dutch friends, don’t expect magic. You have to provide a basis for the friendship. And, beer is a great way to make that happen.
Molly Quell is the International Editor of Delta.
Assistant professor at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Dr. Amineh Ghorbani, obtained her PhD at TU Delft in 2013. Originally from Iran, her research combines institutional economics with modelling and simulation to study community initiatives combatting climate change. She hopes to apply the findings to sustainable projects in her own neighbourhood in Delft.
1.Is there a social aspect to every technical problem?
YES 3. Are girls better coders than boys?
NO
2. Can 'soft things' like policies, laws and shared strategies really be captured in computer simulations?
YES 4. Are academics from different universities collaborating effectively?
NO
Which question would you like to elaborate on? “Number four. I consider research collaboration a fundamental pillar of science. From the start of my PhD I engaged in different research collaborations and regard this as a success factor. However, much collaboration is currently passive. Academic networking is largely strategic aiming to improve public image, increase impact or obtain research grants. A breakthrough to more active collaboration will occur when researchers see the benefits of scientific connections and seek to extend those scientific values. I am in contact with both the Iranian Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) in the Netherlands. I hope in the near future to provide both with valuable insights." (DC)
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Who you should know
Student Services edition
SPORTS AND CULTURE As the name suggests, Sports and Culture is more than just a university gym. For an annual fee you can access the gym and take part in lessons, from Spartan Workouts to Pole Fitness. You can also rent courts and join a number of sports teams. If you are new to the Netherlands try Korfball. This is also the university’s cultural center where you can learn dance, music, ceramics and even get involved in theatre. There are rooms available for meetings and rehearsals, and you can often find a range of events being held here from gigs to Magic - The Gathering tournaments.
Have you seen those big red signs advertising Free Zones around campus? There are six of them, to be precise. In September 2014 these areas were created as part of a wider effort to create a Living Campus. Past events include a travelling festival with food trucks, live performances, photo booths and acrobats. Stations offer electricity, running water and drainage and can be reserved at no cost for use between 8:00 and 21:00. The spaces can accommodate between 100 and 250 people. Anyone holding a valid campus card can reserve a Free Zone through an online reservations system. (DC)
TU DELFT CAREER CENTRE Located on campus, the purpose of the TU Delft Career Centre is to help students, PhDs and recent alumni with professional development and finding career opportunities. There are online services such as job and internship listings, and for the new to job-hunting, guides for CVs, cover letters, salary negotiation and everything in between. They also organise opportunities to meet with companies, and there are a number of career counsellors on hand to help you on your career track, deciding on a master’s degree or even changing your study. Information can be found in both Dutch and English.
Tweet
On June 14, Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the EU Commission, visited the Green Village. The initiative, which is supported by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund, is supposed to be an incubator for university researchers and companies to work side by side, testing and developing circular and sustainable technologies. The Green Village has been an on-going project for the past few years, and recently TU Delft and a number of institutions signed a Green Deal, signifying their commitment to the village. Some of the projects include a glass bridge and a hydrogen fuel cell. (AC)
COUNSELLING/SUPPORT There are actually several different forms of counselling/support available for TU Delft students. The Central Student Counsellors work with individuals with a variety of different backgrounds, from international students to students with a disability or illness. They can also help work though financial issues, university enrolment and other similar problems. There are four psychologists on campus who can provide treatment and support, there are walk-in hours or one-on-one appointments. For any issues or complaints with the university there is the Central Complaints Desk for students, and for complaints about inappropriate conduct or discrimination approach one of TU Delft’s confidential advisors. (AC)
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Alumni Walk of Fame officially open Alumni are important ambassadors for TU Delft and examples for today’s students. That is why the university began selecting the Alumnus of the Year in 2011. To make these successful former students more visible there is now an Alumni Walk of Fame on campus.
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he Alumni Walk of Fame is an initiative of the University Fund. Near the Prometheus statue on campus there a now plaques for the five alumni who were selected over the last years. In this way the Fund wants to put successful former students in the spotlight. It also hopes to inspire today’s students to strive for their own plaque in the Mekel Park. The Alumni Walk of Fame was opened on June 2, 2016 in the presence of Ronald Prins, Alumnus of the Year 2016. Prins is Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Fox-IT, a major cybersecurity company based in Delft. Fox-IT secures Dutch state secrets, performs security audits for companies all over the world and does digital forensic research. In an interview in Delta 16, Prins said that he is “surprised and very proud” of his award. “Apparently I stand out. That is a surprise because I have never felt like a super student,” he said. “It took me eight years to graduate. I was too busy doing other things: eavesdropping on the police
and cracking software packages.” The other alumni of the year were: Adriaan van Hooydonk (2014), Daan Bruggink (2013), Rinske Geerlings (2012) and Arnoud Greidanus (2011). They have all ‘more than proven themselves in the world of innovation and research’, said the University Fund. (SB) Read the full interview with Ronald Prins at delta.tudelft.nl/31756 (Dutch) Read more about other alumni of the year on universiteitsfonds.tudelft.nl/en/walkoffame
Giving talent the chance to shine Delft University Fund issues a range of awards, scholarships and grants each year to promote and support study and research at TU Delft. Some awards such as the Best Graduate, Royal IHC Teamwork, Best Professor and Damen Bachelor Awards are well-known, along with the Alumnus of the Year title. There are a number of other options for gaining recognition and much-needed finance too, aimed at giving students the opportunity to enrich their knowledge and realise inspirational projects. Four scholarships are available, three of which are currently open to applicants. The EBN Energy Transition Scholarship offers three successful applicants €4,000 plus a mentor. “You are free to do a thesis of your choice, enabling more fundamental independent research instead of commercial research,” explained Birgit de Bruin from Delft University Fund. The Peter Paul Peterich PhD Scholarship sponsors one applied mathematics candidate. The SVM Packaging and Environment Scholarship is awarded three times annually to the tune of €4,000. The fourth scholarship is the Marina van Damme Grant that awards €9,000 to a female graduate with nonacademic educated parents that is looking to broaden her knowledge. This year’s winner was Lidewij van Twillert, who will use the money to study at Amsterdam Fashion Academy. Her business, Mesh Lingerie, makes custom-made bras using 3D technology. Van Twillert said the grant has enabled her to “fulfil a small dream”. In addition, grants specifically for master’s students are available to assist with the costs of going abroad for study, internships, projects, conferences, competitions or study tours. Issued three times annually, September 7 is the next application deadline. The team are currently developing this programme further. Education pilots are another focus point. The idea is that if a student sees a gap in their education, they can seek investment and assistance in creating a pilot for that subject. “The aim with the pilots is that next year they’ll be available as an extracurricular option,” said De Bruin. However, it’s not all about money. “Sponsors don’t want to just give money, they want a connection with TU Delft. We don’t have valorisation, we try to match investors with interesting partners. Students and lecturers can also come to us with an idea to see if we can help with a match,” said De Bruin. “We’re following winners to see how they spend the money, to expose the impact so that companies can see what their investment has resulted in. By showing examples, we hope to attract more investors for students in other fields.” (CV) See universiteitsfonds.tudelft.nl for details.
Ronald Prins and Anka Mulder unveil the Walk of Fame.
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New student ambassador board The student ambassador programme for prospective international students at TU Delft began two years ago, and due to success and growth a board has now been appointed.
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he programme kicked-off in February 2014 to enable international students at TU Delft to share their experiences with prospective international students, so that they could be well informed before applying for courses and moving to Delft. What started out as a small-scale operation has grown into a network of 32 ambassadors spread all over the world, including both alumni and current students. The new board was set up in April 2016 and includes: Anandro Amellonado, chairperson from Indonesia, Joanna Kregiel, external affairs from Poland, Nga Phung, internal affairs from Vietnam, Edgard Zuñiga, regional coordinator from Nicaragua, and Leslie Che, online coordinator from Suriname. “We’re now more organised with a sense of direction and we’re gaining a profile,” said Zuñiga. “We want to make sure that all ambassadors feel a sense of responsibility for what they are doing.” The board works closely with TU Delft’s Student Communications department, and serves as an information and contact point for potential students
The new board: Nga Phung , Anandro Amellonado, Joanna Kregiel, Leslie Che and Edgard Zuñiga. (Photo:UF)
via their Facebook page. “If someone has a lot of questions we arrange a call to talk things through,” said Phung. Queries about scholarships, housing, applications and job opportunities are common. Another important part of their work is building up networks in their own countries, and here in Delft. The ambassadors give presentations at universities overseas to spread the word about TU Delft. This summer they’ll be visiting Colombia, Brazil, Korea and Taiwan. On campus, Zuñiga initiated the Latin American Student Association, for example. The enthusiastic board has a number of plans for boosting their profile too, including a programme during introduction week for new international
students. “We also have an idea for a video portfolio to show what it’s like to live and study here covering different subjects like housing, eating habits or going to the supermarket,” said Zuñiga. Whilst the concept of ambassadors isn’t unique, what makes the programme at TU Delft different is that it’s student run, rather than staff run. “We know our own cultures, so it’s easier for us to reach prospective students in our home countries, we know what they are looking for and how to inform them,” explained Phung. See ambassadors.tudelft. nl and facebook.com/TUDelftStudentAmbassadors to find out more. (CV)
Tackling loneliness and connecting community members The results of the 2015 market survey with members of the public in Amsterdam were clear. Interviewees felt the need for help in their homes for at least two hours per week but were unsure how to source it using reliable means. In other words, people wanted to hire someone they could trust.
The WiNZE team. (Photo: WiNZE)
hat emerged as the most important criteria for selecting a ‘help-provider’ was the strength of one’s social connection to that person which could be expressed through proximity as well as the number of personal recommendations by one’s friends and acquaintances. These findings confirmed a hunch that WiNZE founders Aman Jindal and Jasper van
Gelder had that prompted them to create an online ‘errands outsourcing’ platform based on trust and social connections in 2015. Jindal, a TU Delft aerospace MSc student from India, observes that “the distance between people in The Netherlands is greater than in India where these social connections remain strong over time”. He cites data from a 2015 study by national helpline Sensoor in which 28%
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of 250,000 requests for help were prompted by loneliness, a growing concern in the Netherlands especially among the elderly population. So Jindal and Van Gelder designed and built a social network platform for outsourcing household tasks. One user is an individual who posts a task for some kind of help such as cooking, tutoring, or auto repairs. The second user type responds to that post to offer the requested skills or service.
The apparent simplicity of the WiNZE interface belies a complex underlying architecture. While maintaining strict privacy rules, the Facebook-based platform visualises friends that users have in common, the proximity of a service provider to the requester’s own residence, and previous users’s ratings of someone’s services. These responsive, bottom-up design choices were made in the spirit of what Jindal refers to as “the connecting tunnels in an underground multi-level mine” otherwise known as ‘winze’. These choices directly incorporated the ‘connectedness’ elements that market survey respondents indicated were key to instilling a sense of trust needed to take the step of welcoming unknown persons into one’s home to help deal with life’s everyday problems. (DC)
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Text: Jos Wassink Photo: QuTech
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Master Yke Wynia
Approximately 19% of the world’s population – an estimated 1.3 billion people – have no access to electricity. The majority of these people live in rural areas in low income countries and conventional electricity solutions are not always feasible for reaching them. So, how best to determine which solutions are feasible in diverse global settings? What began as a summer internship for Yke Wynia evolved into a thesis project on the feasibility of microgrids for rural electrification. Her research aim was to contribute to the electrification of unserved areas of today’s world. It is essential, in her view, that unserved people attain access to reliable and sustainable electricity services. Access to such services will not only increase access to affordable clean energy in an effort to tackle climate change processes but also assist in reducing global social and economic disparities. Working with Arup’s Energy, Cities and Climate Change Consulting team, the focus on small electricity grids with no connection to the main (often urban) electricity grid was a straight forward choice. Known as off-grid microgrid solutions, these decentralised systems can integrate renewable energy from solar, wind and thermal sources. The project team planned to build a ‘rural electrification tool’, however theorybased criteria were required to support decisions about where and how to build microgrid electrification systems. Wynia set out to identify assessment criteria for the feasibility of suitable microgrid locations. She combined the results of her analysis of 202 recent academic papers on rural electrification with an earlier meta-analysis of 232 studies. The resulting 157 criteria were clustered into six categories including financial, environmental, institutional, technical, etc. A panel of 20 domain experts were then surveyed on which criteria they considered to have the greatest effect on microgrid feasibility. “The survey results were surprisingly contradictory to the findings from the two desk studies of 434 academic papers,” said Wynia. Despite at least half of the scientific writing on rural electrification addressing the technical challenges, the experts considered financial factors as the decisive criteria in selecting the right location for microgrid development. Technical, institutional and environmental criteria absolutely featured as key but always under the overarching issue of financial feasibility. The theory-based framework Wynia created has a practical application for public and private parties seeking to identify promising microgrid locations in which to invest. The challenge of reaching 1.3 billion unserved people by 2030 remains and Wynia is committed to a career in the field of decentralised energy generation based on the use of renewables to reach unserved people. She is keen to be part of the global transition underway in which economies and industries are shifting from reliance on fossil fuels to renewables. “SEPAM (Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management), with its focus on understanding complex technical and social systems has prepared me for this transition,” said Wynia. (DC)
Photo: Sam Rentmeester
RESEARCH: Research and design of a feasibility framework to assess potential locations for the development of microgrids to provide rural areas with electricity.
FINAL GRADE:
6.5
It is essential that unserved people attain access to reliable and sustainable electricity services
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SINCE YOU ASKED
Thesis
Asteroid mining – it sounds like something from a certain 1998 Michael Bay movie. In reality it has nothing to do with sending Bruce Willis into space with a big drill and explosives to save the planet.
Nuclear forensic science is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the picture is. The more pieces (signatures) we find and assemble, the easier it is to answer the question.
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n June 3, 2016 the government of Luxembourg announced its investment in a 200 million euro fund to attract companies focused on asteroid mining to the small country, following a declaration in February that it plans to become the world’s space mining hub. The investment came alongside a “new space law to provide a framework for space utilisation” which is expected to go into effect in 2017. Delta talked to Ron Noomen from the Astrodynamics and Space Missions research group in the TU Delft Faculty of Aerospace Engineering to find out exactly what asteroid mining is and why Luxembourg is excited about it. Simply put, Noomen describes asteroid mining as “using material that you find on a comet, moon or asteroid”, and he explains how this could potentially take several forms. There is the classical idea of asteroid mining, namely finding rare or precious materials and bringing them back to Earth, a very costly form of space mining. There is the more promising option of in situ resource utilisation, namely digging up resources which would otherwise be brought from Earth, and using them on-site. This could be construction materials for building a base, for example, or retrieving ba-
JUDIT KRAJKÓ Isotopic signatures for origin assessment of natural uranium samples.
sic resources which can be used to generate propellant for rocket engines or water for astronauts to drink. One of the major benefits of this type of asteroid mining would be that space missions would no longer have to leave Earth with all of the required provisions, ultimately making them cheaper. “Every kilogram we want to
No individual, country or organisation can own a planet, moon or asteroid put in space costs around 10,000 dollars (US), so cutting down the mass or the cost, that’s a gain significantly by itself,” said Noomen. While this sounds exciting, there are
three potential barriers to making asteroid mining a reality; technology, funding and legality. The legality poses the biggest problem as the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 states that no individual, country or organisation can own a planet, moon or asteroid. So where does the law stand on resources extracted from them? Noomen believes this is likely to be the biggest stumbling block. “Once that is settled and the doors are opened for major investors, I think we can have another revolution in space flight.” When asked, Noomen asserted that this technology is indeed ‘cool’, adding that “many ideas we considered science-fiction a few decades ago, we are starting to consider a reality now.” (AC)
“Nuclear forensic is a young and complex branch of science. Imagine it as the television series CSI but dealing with radioactive material. The science of nuclear forensics is aimed at solving questions such as “Where does the material come from?” To solve this question, the science uses nuclear tool kits. Currently much work is done on the expansion of nuclear forensic tool kits with so-called signatures which support the successful identification of seized material. However, no signature serves as a silver bullet that can lead to a reliable, credible conclusion on the origin of nuclear material. This means that several parameters of the material have to be combined to answer the question, just as a jigsaw puzzle.”
Delta Events During the 2016-2017 academic year, Delta will hold two new series of events. First, we will be hosting the first debate events, together with Studium Generale, during which a panel of experts will debate a topical issue. The debates will be held at the Prinsenkwartier (Sint Agathaplein 4.)
SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 20:00 NOVEMBER 24, 2016 20:00
The second set of events will be our Living Survival Guide, organised together with Studium Generale and Sports & Culture. Based on our popular Survival Guide series, topics will include Surviving English-language Media, Surviving the Medical System and Surviving Dutch Food. The events will be held at the Culture Centre.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 OCTOBER 7, 2016 OCTOBER 21, 2016 NOVEMBER 18, 2016 DECEMBER 2, 2016 You can check out more information on our Facebook page: facebook.com/tudelta/events
Text: Heather Montague Photos: Marcel Krijger
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To teach or not to teach in English? The debate over whether to teach in English or Dutch is not new. With more programmes transitioning to English, arguments both for and against anglicising continue at TU Delft as well as around the Netherlands. And although to some it may seem black and white, a closer look reveals a complicated story on both sides of the issue.
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here is no question that TU Delft is becoming more international each year. About a third of the master’s students in the 2015-16 academic year were non-Dutch while less than 7% of bachelor’s students were. That is mostly attributed to the fact that at TU Delft, all master’s level courses are taught in English. However, out of 16 bachelor’s programmes, only two, Aerospace Engineering and Applied Earth Sciences, are currently offered in English. A third, Nanobiology, offers most classes in English and will make the full transition beginning in the 2016-17 academic year. That number is low when compared to other Dutch technical universities. For example, eight out of 13 programmes at the University of Twente are in English. And at TU Eindhoven
eight out of 15 bachelor’s programmes are in English, with plans for nearly all to transition in 2017.
DECISION MAKING This trend is particularly interesting given the position of the Dutch government. Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Dr. Jet Bussemaker, has consistently held the view that English-language programmes should not be at the expense of the quality of education. In fact, she recently said in a Radio 1 interview that it is important that Dutch remains the language of higher education. And the Hoger Onderwijs en Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Law on Higher Education and Research Act), which provides the legal framework within which TU Delft operates, states in article 7.2 that all education should be in Dutch, except for three specific reasons: when it is a study in a foreign langua-
ge; when guest lectures are given by foreigners; or when the nature or the quality of the education or the origin of the students makes another language necessary. The university and furthermore, each faculty, has the right to decide whether or not they fall under one of these exceptions and can offer programmes in English. But why should a Dutch university teach in English? From the university’s perspective, there are advantages to internationalisation. The TU Delft mission includes being recognised as “world class” and the vision includes “attracting the world’s best scientists and most gifted students”. In order to achieve that, offering more English medium programmes seems inevitable as English is the lingua franca in most parts of the world, especially in the field of science. read more on page 12
‘I hate you all very welcome’
‘Square carrot’
Hate and heet are prounounced the same but have different meanings so the Dutch sentence 'Ik heet jullie allemaal van harte welkom' means I welcome you all.
In Dutch, a wortel is both the word for root and for carrot.
And global competition for the best students is on the rise, so in order to maintain rankings and reputation it is more important than ever to ensure that TU Delft graduates receive a high quality education that prepares them for an increasingly international job market.
PROFICIENCY CHALLENGES Despite the advantages, transitioning to English-language teaching offers some significant challenges. One of the most difficult issues is ensuring the quality of education through language proficiency. According to a survey conducted in 2015 by the Landelijke Studentenvakbond (LSVb), the Dutch national student union, 57% of Dutch students find the level of English-language teaching to be substandard, even to the point of impeding their studies. In February 2015, TU
‘Everyone who is not a native speaker has an accent, no matter where you come from and we should allow for that’
Delft student association ORAS polled over 1,500 Dutch bachelor’s students at TU Delft about English. They found that 32.5% of respondents said they have trouble following lectures because of the low quality of English skills of the teacher. But it’s not just a matter of the teachers. In the ORAS survey, 21% of the students surveyed also admitted that they struggle with assignments or writing papers because of a lack in their own English skills, while nearly 12% struggle with lectures. There are ongoing efforts to address language proficiency at TU Delft. The current policy requires all staff teaching in English to have a minimum level of C1 as gauged by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. But it seems that implementing such a policy is much more difficult than writing it. New staff are assessed upon appointment and if they don’t qualify, have three years to reach the C1 level. “It’s the responsibility of the deans to motivate teachers to follow up with improving,” said Julia van der Ven, Chair of Lijst Beta and Secretary of the Student Council. “But it seems not everyone is following through.” Van der Ven, who is studying applied physics, pointed out that in discussions with the Ondernemingsraad, the body that represents TU Delft staff members, it was mentioned that often lecturers may want to improve their English skills,
but don’t have the time. The work load for professors can be heavy and language may not be a priority.
UNDERSTANDING In relation to proficiency, comprehension of spoken English also seems to be an issue. Last year, in a meeting with the Studentenraad (SR), or Student Council, TU Delft’s Vice President for Education and Operations Anka Mulder went on the record as saying steenkolengels (charcoal English, a slang term for poor English) from lecturers is acceptable. In response, the SR wrote an advisory letter to the Executive Board asking for some minimum requirements for faculties wanting to transition to English. “Our motivation is to help improve teaching and there hasn’t been enough focus on the issue,” said Loulou Zaat, Vice President for ORAS and a member of the Student Council. When asked about her statement, Dr. Mulder replied, “Of course it’s important that people understand teachers. We recognize that we have to work on improving the level of English, coaching, training, giving people time to improve their English. But everyone who is not a native speaker has an accent, no matter where you come from and we should allow for that.” And there may be more than just the language proficiency of lecturers at the root of the issue.
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“Don't let the cheese eat off your bread”
“You have to screw up the number”
'Laat de kaas niet van je brood eten' is a Dutch idiom that means to not let someone take advantage of you.
'Je moet de waarde opschroeven' means you must increase the value but opschroeven literally translates to up screw.
Dr. Renate Klaassen, a consultant with Educational Centre Focus (OC Focus) at TU Delft, said that in 2007, in response to complaints about language, TU Delft undertook the major task of assessing 1,300 lecturers. This process led to some surprising discoveries. “The assumption is that younger people would be better at speaking English, but we found the opposite,” said Dr. Klaassen. “The higher up the ladder the better your English is likely to be.” She also said that students may often ascribe a lack of quality to language proficiency skills, but their assessments revealed that being proficient in English is not a ticket to good teaching. “If your teaching skills are not good enough, then language doesn’t really matter,” said Dr. Klaassen. In relation to this, Dr. Mulder said the administration will focus more on ensuring teaching qualifications, stating, “We agreed with the SR and the deans that this will be a priority this year.” There are also arguments that all-English academic programmes may lead to a sort of cultural loss. MaartenJan Hoekstra, researcher and teacher in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environmnet (BK), argues that not all faculties should abandon Dutch. “While I am in favour of specific bachelor courses taught in English, based on content or later in the curriculum, I indeed am having some strong doubts
on bachelors completely taught in English,” he said. Hoekstra explained that the majority of BK graduates work within Dutch society with other contributors to the built environment that all speak Dutch, and therefore it is the responsibility of the faculty to protect this Dutch communication for pragmatic societal reasons. In addition, he said, “Architecture and the Built Environment as a field of study in Delft and as a practice in the Netherlands both have a long and famous tradition and a specific Dutch cultural dimension which will cease to develop if the bachelor will be completely taught in English.” In relation to this notion, Dr. Klaassen noted, “I think Dutch people feel that they are selling out a body of knowledge and longstanding traditions. But it’s important to remember you may lose something, but you may also gain something.”
ROAD AHEAD In contrast, Dr. Mulder pointed out that although some faculties won’t likely change soon, with some programmes there is a greater need to teach in English. For example, she noted that in fields like computer engineering or electrical engineering, the area of work that students enter after graduation is highly international. And despite the challenges of switching to English, the path ahead for TU Delft most certainly leads
that direction. “I think it is the case that say 10 to 15 years from now perhaps not all, but most of our programmes will be in English,” said Dr. Mulder. “English is the new Latin.” Amidst all of the arguments, one thing is clear: the conversation about more English language programmes at TU Delft is far from over. And in the end it seems that the parties involved may not be so far apart. “We all want the same thing,” said Zaat, “but how do we get there? The focus has to be stronger on this topic.” In agreement, Van der Ven stated, “From a Student Council perspective, we see the benefits of internationalisation, but you need a roadmap. Think about what’s needed to make the transition to English so you can make a well-educated decision.” <<
TU Delft’s Global Initiative was launched in November 2015, with the goal of finding concrete solutions for problems faced by people in developing countries that will benefit everyone. By working closely with local scientists and entrepreneurs, and using cutting-edge science and technology, they aim to make an impact and improve people’s lives. ‘Science for the benefit of people. All people. Worldwide,’ is their motto. Delta spoke with chairman, Nick van de Giesen, to find out more.
‘Science for the benefit of people. All people. Worldwide’
Text: Caroline Vermeulen Photos: Sam Rentmeester
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What is TU Delft’s Global Initiative? Delft Global Initiative is one of four research-related initiatives at TU Delft seen as strategic fields. We have one in energy, one in health and one in deltas, infrastructures and mobility. This one is slightly different in the sense that it is more of a ‘bottom-up’ thing.
How did it come about? Some colleagues thought it would be good if we had a similar initiative aimed at the Global South. The board of the university thought it was a good idea too, so that’s how it started. I like the fact that it’s really supposed to be, is, and will stay a ‘bottom-up’ thing. Traditionally there have always been a lot of connections between TU Delft and developing countries: student projects and research projects, teaching arrangements and things like that. There has always been that link, but it’s a bit here and a bit there. Part of the idea is to bundle it a bit and profit from that knowledge exchange, and partially to make it a bit more professional. So far it’s been very successful.
So it’s a multidisciplinary platform that connects the different departments on campus? Yes, that’s an important part. It’s definitely multidisciplinary, but not necessarily interdisciplinary. We’re trying to bring together everyone on campus that has an interest.
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they leave, and we stop dancing. They come back a few years later and are surprised that we’re not still dancing. People in developing countries get ill, yes, but we also get ill. Some colleagues in Africa don’t take malaria prophylaxis, some do. People get malaria, but it’s not necessarily a problem. It’s a perspective thing. It’s one thing to try and solve other people’s problems without involving them, but it’s one step further to first perceive something that’s a problem for other people that they may not perceive as such, and then start solving it. The best way is to see together what the problems are, and move from there.
Once you have co-created something, and you leave, how do you ensure that it’s maintained? That’s why the business aspect is important. I know it doesn’t sound very sympathetic, but if you create something that is financially self-sustaining, that means along the whole chain there are people interested enough to keep it going. I’m not saying that’s the only way you can do it, but if you can manage that then you can be much more secure of it continuing.
Is that the main goal? That’s the main goal internally. We also have a goal towards the outside world. We want to become a visible node in a global network, the goto place when it comes to these kinds of issues. Also we want for people from the developing world to see that we’re an interesting partner to work with. Externally, our main way to operate is to work together with colleagues in developing countries on the basis of mutual respect. It sounds a bit heavy, but that’s the real idea, instead of saying ‘we have such a brilliant idea, we’re going to make poor people rich!’ That’s not what we’re about.
There are four key elements to the initiative: co-creation, global challenge, high-tech and local impact. Can you tell us more about those? What I like is the high-tech research. Some people think that by dumbing down something high-tech so that it works elsewhere is fine. That’s not how we want to work. We want to be smart so that it also works there, and we want to do that by co-creating, which is easier said than done, but it’s working quite nicely at the student level at the moment. We are looking for impact as well. The philosophy of the present board is that we would like to see tangible outcomes, a product where you can see a result.
Can you explain what you mean by co-creation? The example I like to give is this. We fly some people in from Fouta Djallon in Guinea, they’re some of the world’s best dancers, and they say ‘wow, these people don’t dance, that’s terrible!’ They start teaching us to dance, and when they finally think they’re getting somewhere
‘We want to become a visible node in a global network’
How do you do that? We’re working with one start-up in Rwanda that is looking at severe weather. We’re looking to see if we can make a lightning detection network. In Africa more people die from lightning than snake bites. In Europe that might not say much, but there it does. It was an interesting first intellectual study, and now they’re trying to bring it to the next level with our support. It’s a lot of trial and error, and we’re lucky here that we have that luxury to find patterns that work nicely, we’re trying to come up with different models.
It’s not just staff, students and researchers that are involved with the initiative but local companies too? That’s right. We try to be a good hub in a network, and companies play an important role there. In this case we’d like to have professionalisation. Research accounts for maybe two-thirds of what we do. Valorisation, where we work with small companies and young spin-offs, is the rest. The best fun of course is when the students, researchers and spin-offs come together.
What specific steps are you taking to achieve your goals? We have a number of PhD scholarships. We have three rounds, the first two took place already, and there will also be a third call. Read more on page 16
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‘If you create something that is financially self-sustaining, that means along the whole chain there are people interested enough to keep it going’ So with the students and supervisors we already have a small community. Once a month we have a lunch to discuss things together. Then we have lectures and workshops that are a bit more in depth. Plus every now and again we have a special event, like our kick-off event last November. This is how we try and get people together, in an attempt to become more of a community. We’re always open to new ideas too.
How are you funded? As one of the four strategic research topics at TU Delft, we are an area they wanted to invest in, so it’s first stream money. We do try to boost our position outside campus too. For example with NWO, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, we have some doubling where for every euro we spend they put in a euro too. One of the things I promised to do is look at the foundations. At TU Delft we don’t get much money in from big foundations, it’s difficult to get in to those. Cold calling doesn’t get you anywhere, we need to think of ways to get in and lobby and show what we can do to get external funding. So we are also looking to grow further.
So it’s a long term project? We have a five year mandate, with an outlook to extending it to ten years if everything goes as we expect. It’s very interesting to see how many parts of campus are interested in this. We have good connections with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with the professionalisation side of things and the network we have to offer there is widespread interest.
Who are the people behind the Delft Global Initiative? I’m the chairman of the project, and Dr. Jennifer Kockx is the executive secretary. She does most of the real thinking and moving things forward. Plus we have a team to deal with communications, getting our story out, outreach to students and so forth. We also have a board that meets three times a year to discuss the bigger picture.
Are there any specific projects you want to highlight? My favourite project is TAHMO, the Trans-African Hydro-Meteorolo-
CV Dr. Nick van de Giesen has been a professor of water resources management at TU Delft’s Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences since 2004. Between 1998 and 2004 he worked at the Center for Development Research at Bonn University, and was a post-doc at WARDA Cote d’Ivoire from 1994 to 1998. Prior to that, he earned
his PhD from Cornell University for his work on wetland development in Rwanda, and his MSc in irrigation engineering from Wageningen University. With over 20 years of research in the field in Africa and Southeast Asia during the course of his career, he was appointed chairman of the Delft Global Initiative in 2015.
gical Observatory. One of my biggest frustrations was that there’s basically no data about weather and climate and water, so we started this initiative. Our objective is to have a network of 20,000 weather stations, and we have a different design that doesn’t need a technician. We put them at schools so teachers can maintain them, and we can educate people at the same time, and we’re trying to put together a business model to get some money for the data that we produce. We’re currently in about 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We’re at scale in Uganda, Kenya and Ghana and soon Nigeria. We also have stations in Guatemala and Costa Rica. The concept is transferable to other continents too, it’s really taking off. Just this summer, IBM and its subsidiary Weather Underground decided to boost station deployments in East and West Africa through a one million dollar investment in TAHMO.
Are there any other aspects of the project you want to tell us about? Our rector thinks of what we are doing as development aid. I don’t see it that way. This one-directional movement is not going to get anywhere in general, you really need to work together. It’s a two-way thing. With that come people, including people coming this way. In the past ten years or so people have been looking at the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are coming up, and looking there for talent. But there must also be Einsteins in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southeast Asia and also in Latin America. How do you find these people and get them to the top? This is something we’re also looking into, mining for talent. It makes sense, and we should not be the last ones knocking on the door. This is also a very exciting thing to be doing here at TU Delft. <<
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SUDOKU VARIATION Explore yourself. Enlarge your playground! Sports & Culture facebook.com/sc.tudelft
sc.tudelft.nl
twitter.com/tudelft_sc
Mekelweg 8-10, 2628 CD Delft
Š 2015 www.sudoku-variations.com
Solution Delta Sudoku 17 In a regular Word Sudoku, every row, column and block of 3x3 cells must contain the nine different letters exactly once. There are three further items to solve. These are the three groups with cells marked in pink, blue, green and grey. (A grey cell is a common cell of the two adjacent groups.) Each group must also contain these nine different letters exactly once. In the green group, starting in the upper grey cell, a meaningful nine letter word appears as solution of this Word Sudoku.
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Text and Illustration: Marco Villares
Campus qualities and landmarks You have just arrived at TU Delft, the scene of your life for the near future. Where, exactly, have you landed?
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f you look at an aerial photo of the modern TU Delft campus you'll see it occupies nearly the same space as the town centre. But, for a small densely populated location in the western Netherlands it is not a dense urban campus. The spacious modern campus is organised along a broad, park-like boulevard called Mekelpark, named for a former professor and World War 2 resistance fighter.
HISTORY The university was founded in 1842 as a Royal Academy to train civil engineers in Delft's historical centre. Twenty years later it became a polytechnic school before ultimately becoming an institute of technology at the start of the 20th century. New buildings were added in the historic centre and to the south east of the canal around the town centre to accommodate steadily growing student numbers. This migration south was reinforced when student numbers after WW2 grew to more than 5,000. “Like in many towns, such as Utrecht and Rotterdam, a new city outside the old centre was planned, coupled with a policy of making higher education accessible to all,” said Dr. Frank van der Hoeven, associate professor of urban design and Director of Research at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (BK). Delft gained its legal University of Technology status in 1986 and now has new challenges ahead. The farm cottage and barn on Rotterdamseweg behind the Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EWI) faculty belong to the university and are remnants of the polder's former agricultural function. The Jaffa cemetery between the Aula and BK is another remnant. Herman van Bergeijk, associate professor at the History of Architecture and Urban Planning department at BK says a new main building was planned on the spot where the cemetery is, but it could not be purchased from the municipality. George Tzovlas, of the Facility Management and Real Estate department, says the campus made for baby boomers and cars is changing into a university for millenials. The task for his department is to make
the campus a living experience and reduce space while making buildings more efficient and better addressing user’s needs.
UNIVER-CITY Alexandra den Heijer, associate professor at BK, believes that visitors and newcomers encounter unconnected, closed islands when they arrive on campus. But there is a move to adapt this legacy and promote physical networking among the faculties to promote innovation. The aim is to turn the closed faculty cells inside out to showcase their activities and inspire collaboration. Den Heijer sees a lot of potential in maximising the public, in-between spaces within and outside the faculty buildings. Her theory is that the university community and tourists are drawn to “attractive public space, densely populated areas that encourage social encounters or at least give a sense of place.” Dr. Van der Hoeven agrees, emphasising that you can freely enter most TU Delft buildings and it would be good if more people became aware of this accessibility to attractive facilities. He believes the heart of the campus is the first half of the Mekelpark between the library and the EWI faculty. It works very well with enough entrances which ensure the presence of people and liveliness. Den Heijer also underlines how close the campus is to Delft’s historic town centre, Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport and even the seaside by The Hague.
Existing Icons AULA CONFERENCE CENTRE Considered architecturally challenged by some, resembling a colossal squatting frog or a spaceship, the Aula building is the face of the university, the setting for most ceremonial events and PhD defences. “The Aula project was going to be bigger,” said Van Bergeijk. “It also had a high rise building on top of it housing all the administration,” Van der Hoeven said. “The ground floor canteen was originally designed for bike parking, explaining its low ceiling and difficult acoustics and air quality.” Love it
or hate it, the brutalist, concrete landmark is a listed monument, a challenge to the future from the 1960s. The massive auditorium, seating 1,300, cantilevers out 30 metres. It is supported by two piers which are not structurally necessary and are only there to make it look stable.
LIBRARY The Library building was one of the first interventions to upgrade the campus for the future. From the outside it is an artificial grassy hill resulting from tilting the ground plane up 13 degrees. Despite the giant 41 metre cone sticking out of the roof, the concept of the building as a landscape and its low profile are considered deferential gestures to the concrete Aula built before it. The skewed entrance stairs have a stretched tread and riser proportion, to slow you down before going into a space of concentration. Its popular central hall is used as study centre, with the printed books stacked out of the way on four levels at the rear blue wall.
BK Built from 1917-1925 and originally planned as a chemistry faculty, the building was unused until 1948. The chemistry function explains the tower for water storage.
After the war it became TU Delft's main building until it was sold to be converted into flats. But after the previous 13 storey BK faculty was destroyed by fire in 2008, the building was retrieved and fitted out as a replacement in a record six months. Luckily the property developer, affected by the financial crisis, agreed to return it. This vibrant hive of creativity is a complex of wings organised around the central corridor going from east to west. Van der Hoeven said it’s not called BK City for nothing. Its corridor is like the bustling, narrow street of a medieval town.
EWI The 22 storey campus icon visible for miles around, with its shifted glazed slabs, blue and red livery and big clocks, opened in 1969. “The EWI location was first made available for BK, but the new architecture faculty project was taking too long and so they switched plots,” said Van Bergeijk. The building has an uncertain future, as it is unsuitable for academic purposes, expensive to maintain and needs a costly renovation to upgrade it. But according to Van der Hoeven it has clear heritage value and has been a campus icon since completion.
New additions PULSE The new PULSE building (Practise, Unite, Learn, Share & Explore) nestled between the Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (3mE) building and Industrial Design Engineering (IO) will be a testing ground for novel educational methods. Delivery is planned for the spring of 2017. Conceived as an inter-faculty educational centre, its spaces will flexibly accommodate new formats of interactive knowledge transfer, also providing a place for self-study and a restaurant. Equipped with an intelligent management system, this state of the art building will be energy neutral with high energy and sustainability performance scores.
APPLIED SCIENCES FACULTY From its location between the Aula and Civil Engineering and Geosciences, the Applied Sciences faculty (TNW) will move to a brand new building located in Technopolis science park to the south of campus. Located between the Reactor Institute
Delft and Aerospace Engineering (LR), the building boasts a grand, naturally lit central atrium. Housing the Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering and Bionanoscience departments together, the improved functionality and bigger, safer, modern labs in the same building will create an interface to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration.
EXTENSION OF SPORTS AND CULTURE FACILITIES In summer 2016 at the southern end of the campus a partially covered multifunctional central hall will couple the existing cultural centre to the sport buildings. Existing spaces will receive a facelift and the project will add a new large sport hall, with three smaller spaces for combat sports, dance and aerobics and meditation as well as extra storage and changing rooms with showers. <<
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Smarter snacking Have you ever bought a bag of chips and eaten all of them without really thinking about it? Well, you’re not alone. It’s a regular occurrence for many and this is exactly what many food companies want you to do.
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hey design their packaging in all sorts of clever ways to encourage overeating. That way, over time, the average consumer purchases more snacks than they might otherwise. This all too common phenomenon inspired Industrial Design Engineering student Elizabeth Berghuijs to create a healthier alternative while she worked on her MSc thesis. She spent over nine months working on the project, during which she took a close look at many of the methods food companies use to
trick you into gobbling up too many snacks. “First of all, there is the size of packages,” she said. “A bigger package makes you think there should be more food in one portion. This makes you eat more.” Berghuijs also learned that the graphics, photos and wording used on packaging can further lead to overconsumption. The use of certain terms like ‘healthy’ often convinces consumers that it’s OK to eat too much. While conducting her research, Berghuijs studied how people react to different types of packaging and how companies might come up with designs that discourage unhealthy eating habits. “It may sound easy but I would recommend using a transparent package without partitions,” Berghuijs said. “It should also, for example, be very clear how
many cookies are in one serving. A single cookie in a plastic wrapper would not work because you will not feel fully saturated by eating one. But putting multiple cookies in one package will make you feel fuller after eating them.” Berghuijs created a prototype for the project that uses methods like these. One day, they may help consumers become smarter when it comes to snacking. (BH) Berghuijs, E.F., Influencing Consumption Behaviour Through Food Packaging Design, Supervisors: Dr. J.P.L. Schoormans and P. Cankurtaran, Defence: May 31, 2016
Media training with Boyan Slat It’s almost like he’s a superstar. Cameramen and journalists are nearly tripping over each other to take the best shot of Boyan Slat, the 21-year-old brain behind the Ocean Cleanup project. But with his calm demeanor, he knows exactly how to deal with intrusive media and tough questions.
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hy actively move through the ocean, if the ocean can move through you? This idea marked the beginning of Slat’s school research project five years ago. He wants to clear the oceans of the socalled plastic soup. His idea evolved and eventually the Ocean Cleanup Foundation was started. Last week, Slat presented his prototype, which needs to survive in the North Sea for one year. During the press conference, Slat was escorted by his personal assistant. She pointed out his tight schedule to the horde of journalists and photo-
national and international good reputation is a fact. “We need a whole army of Boyans,” said Dijksma. Bedowski called him inspiring and praised his courage. Slat did not seem to be too impressed by the words of these important figures, though. Being impatient during the photo shoot, he enthusiastically explained to Dijksma and Bedowski that his pro-
Slat does not seem to care about the dozens of cameras pointed at him Reporters question Boyan Slat during the launch of his prototype. (Photo: Ocean Cleanup)
graphers. No more than five minutes were free to take pictures before interviews were scheduled. And those interviews were only reserved for (inter)national radio and television. Slat does not seem to care about the dozens of cameras pointed at him. What does it mean to quit university at a young age and become CEO of an internationally renowned foundation? While most college students face stress and panic of upcoming exams, Slat spends his time on realising his dream. Instead of books, exams and
parties, he is engaged in feasibility studies, acquisition and obtaining data on the amount of plastic in the ocean. Drinking tea with Boskalis CEO Peter Bedowski is on his agenda. And with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment Sharon Dijksma, he will go to Indonesia to create awareness about the plastic soup. Whether it is due to his young age, tremendous perseverance or ambition to help the world and rid the oceans of plastic is not clear. But his
totype is ‘smart’, because of the sensors on top of it. Nevertheless, this might as well be a ploy in front of the camera, whispered in his ear by his PR-team. Slat also knows that this media circus is necessary to make his idea become reality. Throughout the circus of cameras and “Boyan” screaming photographers, he knows how to present his story and speak to the media in a calm and clear way. Yet, despite his mature manner in handling the media, he’s still a 21-year-old who named his prototype ‘Boomy McBoomface’. (AS)
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Fighting the need for speed Advanced driver assistance systems are becoming increasingly common in automobiles. While they’re supposed to help keep motorists safe, they could also be encouraging them to engage in risky behaviour.
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have been conducted on haptic steering guidance. In one test, drivers who continually used the system on a 13.9 km road with curves drove, on average, 7 km/h faster than those who did not. Melman also collaborated with his colleagues and supervisors in the HFauto Project and the Symbiotic Driving Project and developed two systems that provide the benefits of haptic steering guidance without causing drivers to speed. “I fully agree and believe that if we take these nega-
tive adaptations into account, we will be able to develop safer man-machine systems,” Melman said. (BH) Melman, T., Does Haptic Steering Guidance Instigate Speeding?, Supervisors: Dr. D.A. Abbink and Dr. J.C.F. de Winter, Defence: June 3, 2016
his is what BioMechanical Design student Timo Melman learned while conducting research on the systems (which are often referred to as ADAS) for his MSc thesis. He focused on a newer one called haptic steering guidance that uses assistive forces to help keep drivers within their lane on windy roads. Melman discovered that, while this ADAS is designed to improve their driving, it often encourages them to speed as well. As with similar systems, this system causes what’s called adverse behavioural adaptation. Drivers tend to become overly reliant on them, which leads to them engaging in counter-intuitive activities that can be quite dangerous. In the case of haptic steering guidance, drivers start putting the pedal to the metal. “There are many different psychological theories that try to explain why people show behavioural adaptation, such as speeding,” Melman said. “Why people adapt in such a way remains difficult to explain because it depends on many other factors like personality, driver experience, the driver’s attitude towards the ADAS and, of course, on the design of the ADAS.” Melman spent nine months working on the project and took a close look at driver simulator studies that
The world’s first bio-laser and bio-lens made in Delft How do you make a biolaser and a bio-lens out of bacteria? A team of ten TU Delft students will work through the summer to make these ideas into reality. The ultimate goal is to win the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, the biggest in synthetic biology.
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s nine of the ten members are women, the iGEM team forms an exceptional group of students considering the number of men at TU Delft. They will
compete in Boston with 300 other teams from all around the world. Participants have to solve a societal problem using microorganisms by giving them a special property. The TU Delft team uses the DNA of jellyfish and sea sponges to make their microorganisms into extraordinary beings. The TU Delft group focuses on bio-optics, which is important for visualising and understanding a cell. The light inside a cell is tracked with bio-optics, thereby exposing the cell’s mechanisms. Existing technologies that use fluorescence are good, but not good enough. Therefore, the team wants to design a bio-laser to provide sharper images. In this way, diseases like cancer can be tracked. But the team is up to more challenges. Based on the biolaser idea, they will also design a biolens. This could be used as a camera for smartphones or as a coating in solar panels to increase efficiency.
And believe it or not, these innovative plans will be carried out by bacteria. DNA originating from a sea sponge is inserted in the bacteria, which will ensure production of protein. This particular protein can make a bacterium
‘We receive help but it’s mostly our own design and creation’ build a thin layer of glass around itself. The result is a tiny glass ball with a bacterium inside. One of the challenges the team has to deal with is the removal of the bacterium. The remaining ball of glass is then nothing more than a tiny lens. If another piece of DNA is inserted, like the one from the jellyfish, the cell will make fluorescent proteins,
meaning that they can emit light. By combining the glass-making protein with the light-emitting protein, they can ensure that light emitted by the cell will be reflected multiple times in the glass before leaving the bacterium. This builds up the energy and a small bundle of light, or laser, will be the result. If the TU Delft iGEM team succeeds, they will have made the world’s first bio-laser and bio-lens which operate in an independent way. “It is a unique project,” said Célina Reuvers. “We receive help from PhD students and professors, but it’s mostly our own design and creation.” The team will present their project in Boston in October of this year. (AS)
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From Delft to Detroit Internationally Detroit is known for music, cars and, unfortunately due to the restructuring of the autoindustry and financial crises, poverty and urban decay. Three architecture students from TU Delft have started a non-profit to fight climate change by making quality, sustainable housing options cheaply available for all citizens of the iconic city.
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he initiative is called the Motown Movement, and was started by three undergraduate students who all have, or are on their way to graduating: Bob Hendrikx, Dominik Lukkes, and Ronen Dan. Interest in the topic was piqued by Hednrikx’s study of Shrinking Cities looking at Manchester and Detroit, and after an all-American road trip passing through Detroit in 2015 the three students came together in February to work on the project. The idea ultimately developed into a plan to buy and renovate a home with the first floor acting as a community house, informing residents of affordable, low-tech, do-it-yourself ways to make their homes more sustainable and, ultimately, save them money. According to Hendrikx there will be ‘menus’ with sustainability methods for different price ranges, including how much they can save, and lectures teaching the community how to implement them. The second floor would be a sustainable home for
The Motown Movement in front of their house in Detroit. (Photo: Motown Movement)
a family who lost theirs to foreclosure, both giving back to the community and providing proof of concept. As Dan explained, “We saw this opportunity to help people with the technology we have, and their strong culture of self-sufficiency.” They bought the home during their preliminary trip April to May of this year, and also found a series of already established non-profits to work with them. Although they have met extensively with many larger institutions, the team members all emphasised the importance of a bottom-up approach, particularly in such a racially, economically-divided area. Dan referenced the phrase ‘nothing about us, without us is for us’ and said the group quickly learned
the importance of working with the community to build a lasting project and avoid the infamous white saviour complex. Many artists, groups and individuals undertake similar initiatives, however often when their project is over they leave the project behind without making a lasting impact. This creates a further level of distrust, and is something The Motown Movement is also keen to avoid. The group is funded both by sponsors and crowdfunding and they are still raising money. They will be returning in September to establish the house, and hope that as well as being self-sustaining once they leave, this could be a model students can use in other cities. (AC)
Lecture showcases vanguard process technologies Cutting edge process technology research from around the world came to Delft at the annual Jacobus van 't Hoff lecture.
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n June 20 2016 the TU Delft Process Technology Institute invited Ronald R. Chance, of the firm Algenol Biotech Fort Myers, Florida and School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia to present his team's work. He presented a promising solar energy powered, two-step process to convert carbon dioxide into biofuel using blue-green micro algae. The process uses industrially produ-
ced carbon dioxide or power plant flue gas as a feedstock for the algae. In a photobioreactor of specially engineered plastic, the algae photosynthetically produce diluted ethanol
Ronald R. Chance presented a promising solar energy powered, two-step process to convert carbon dioxide into biofuel using bluegreen micro algae which is purified to fuel grade ethanol. In contrast to crop biofuel production, no farmland or freshwater is needed. System integration of the supply of process electricity and heat
creates lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The process has a lower carbon footprint than other transportation biofuels and shows potential to be scaled up. Professor Sang Yup Lee kicked off the series in November 2013. He is dean and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and presented his team's research on the metabolic engineering of micro-organisms to produce natural and synthetic chemicals. A year later the theme was flow chemistry with Professor Klavs Jensen, head of chemical engineering at MIT speaking of micro reactors that enable controllable chemical reactions in miniaturized continuous flow systems at higher pressures and temperatures. He showed examples of applicati-
ons in optics, electronics energy conversion and biomedicine. In 2015 Avelino Corma, professor at the Instituto de Tecnología Química, Valencia, Spain, explained his research on the design of solid catalysts to maximise process efficiency and selectivity. Multifunctional catalysts allow cascade reactions in processes related to chemicals and biomass transformation to produce chemical products and fuels. The work has successfully been implemented in industrial processes. (MV) The series honours Jacobus van 't Hoff, alumnus of TU Delft, and the winner of the first Nobel prize for chemistry in recognition for his foundational work on physical chemistry.
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Text: Caroline Vermeulen Photo: Marcel Krijger
DELFT SURVIVAL GUIDE Surviving the parking Whether you have visitors in town, or your own vehicle to park, there are a number of options in and around the city. CAMPUS The biggest bonus with campus parking is that it’s free. “Within a walking distance of 400 metres for residential and 800 metres for other functions, there is always plenty of room to park on campus,” concluded the Gemeente Delft in a report dated January 2016 following research commissioned by TU Delft in cooperation with the municipality. As you’d expect, there are peak periods. The BK and Aula car parks fill up quickly, and are often overcrowded. There are quieter spots where you’ll generally have a better chance of finding a spot, such as behind EWI and at Sports and Culture. TU Delft evaluates the parking situation on campus annually.
CITY CENTRE GARAGES There are three multi-storey garages on the perimeter of the city open 24 hours a day. Zuidpoort has 900 spaces and convenient access to shops, the cinema and theatre. Phoenix garage has 202 spaces, and you can exit directly onto Oude Delft near the old church and town hall. The Markt garage has 344 spaces, and it’s a short walk over the Koepoort bridge to the main market square. You pay on return to your vehicle. The hourly rate is €2.90, or you can purchase a day pass which may work out cheaper. Cash or card payments are accepted. At Kampveld garage you can rent a space with a monthly or yearly subscription.
Parking wardens are quick and strict
An aerial view of the Aula car park.
CITY CENTRE ON-STREET PARKING There is additional public parking at Paardenmarkt (210 spaces), Gasthuisplaats (160 spaces) and a handful on the Voorstraat. These cost €3.00 per hour. Payment is only by card or mobile phone, by logging your number plate. There’s no pay and display anymore. All of the other on-street parking is reserved for residents and businesses. The only exception is if you want a day permit, in which case for €29.00 you can use a spot usually reserved for permit holders. A large part of the city is vehicle free, and monitored by a new vehicle registration camera system. There’s clear signage in English and Dutch to warn you as you approach this zone. If you need to access the zone, a day permit for loading/unloading can be obtained, for moving house for example.
DISABLED PARKING All car parks in the city have spots
available for those with disabled badges, but they’re not all free, so it’s best to check beforehand.
TRAIN STATION Nijverheidsplein has 200 spaces near the train station, a ten minute walk from the centre. It’s cheaper than the central options with an hourly rate of €2.40, or €6.00 for a day pass. It’s free before 12 pm and on Sundays. Once the train zone construction project is complete, 600 underground parking spaces will be available.
OUTSIDE THE CITY CENTRE On Papsouwselaan by the Aldi supermarket, and at De Hoven shopping centre, there are paid car parks. At the hospital, on-street parking is for permit holders only, you must use their paid car park. IKEA and Woonboulevard Leeuwenstein offer free parking. On the streets elsewhere is a mix of paid, free and permit parking for residents. Be careful about checking the signage, certain times of the
day parking is free, and other times it’s paid or permit only. Residents can get visitor permits which allow them to log visiting vehicles online, to a maximum of 408 hours annually. Further afield all parking is free, you can check the boundaries at delft.nl/ parkeren.
PENALTIES Parking wardens are quick and strict. Don’t risk a fine of €60.00 plus administration costs and the original parking fee. To make life simple, you can pay via your mobile phone. “In Delft that’s possible everywhere,” according to the Gemeente website. “Safe and easy.”