Delft Outlook, TU Delft (3-2016)

TIM VAN DER HAGEN

‘Minding the shop is too easy for me’

HEALTHCARE ROBOTS

DELFT NO. 3 OUTLOOK

OCT 2016

YEAR

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Speed THEME

Encouraging independence

STEEL RESEARCH

The blacksmith’s secret

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NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

Cover: “The Hyperloop model looks very sleek. By photographing it from behind and by adding some light the speed is emphasised. In that way, the image becomes almost abstract.”

Photo: Sam Rentmeester

EDITORIAL

Frank Nuijens DELFT IN BRIEF 04

Speed

Studying at speed is the old adage in The Hague, and TU Delft students need no reminding of that. But it was speed cycling that was the Human Power Team’s priority on the abandoned roads of Nevada in the United States.

Their aerodynamic egg on wheels was ranked third of all participating universities with a maximum speed of 124.73 km/h.

At the Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa, the Nuna solar car also sped to success for the Nuon Solar Team. It covered 4,717 km in just eight days, securing a world record. Despite this, it proved a very eventful race. The solar car crashed on the test track before the start, hit a barrier on the second day of racing and was even stopped by inquisitive police officers.

IN PERSON 24

When it comes to state-of-the-art transport, the Delft Hyperloop promises the speed of an aircraft combined with the comfort of a train, according to its own website. Student Tim Houter and his team are aiming high in the international competition in California in January 2017. ‘The Hyperloop is the future of transport,’ says Houter in this edition.

‘You can get from Amsterdam to Paris in less than half an hour.’

Another important event in that same month is TU Delft’s 175th anniversary. From 13 January, the University will focus on the theme: ‘Technology for Life’. For details of the programme, see the next edition of Delft Outlook.

Frank Nuijens, Editor-in-chief

AFTER DELFT 25 STORING RADIOACTIVE WASTE 26 NEW AT TU DELFT 31 THE PATENT 32 COLUMN

TONIE MUDDE

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JOHAN MOLENBROEK

‘N0-ONE IS AVERAGE’

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THE FIRM ISIS

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ALUMNI NEWS 38

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

COLOPHON

page 07 Theme Speed

Cover photo Sam Rentmeester Editorial staff Frank Nuijens (editor-in-chief), Dorine van Gorp, Katja Wijnands (managing editors), Saskia Bonger, Tomas van Dijk, Sam Rentmeester (image editor), Connie van Uffelen, Jos Wassink T +31 (0) 15 2784848, E-mail delftoutlook@tudelft.nl Contributing writers Auke Herrema, Tonie Mudde, Lucas Rozenboom, Stephan Timmers, Design Jelle Hoogendam Typesetting Saskia de Been Printing Quantes Subscriptions delftoutlook@tudelft.nl Delft Outlook is the magazine of TU Delft

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18 Tim van der Hagen ‘One good engineering graduate is better than three mediocre ones’

22 Radioactive waste storage Building for eternity

18 28 28 Home robots Extension of yourself

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NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

ILLUSTRATION: TU DELFT

PHOTO: ESA

DELFT IN BRIEF

Radio astronomers dream of sending nano satellites into space to look for radio waves produced shortly after the Big Bang. The idea is that swarms of such satellites could together form a radio telescope. But each satellite will need to know the exact position of all the other satellites, which requires

communication algorithms.

Dr Raj Thilak Rajan (EEMCS) has made a breakthrough that brings the dream of radio astronomers a step closer.

He recently graduated with a thesis entitled ‘Relative Space-Time Kinematics of an Anchorless Network’. delta.tudelft.nl/32003

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

Listening to the universe

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Tropomi

The new satellite Sentinel 5 with on board the measurement instrument Tropomi (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument) should have been launched last October, but it was cancelled. “Right now ESA doesn’t expect the launch to take place before February or March 2017,” says Prof. Pieternel Levelt, the mission’s lead researcher on behalf of the KNMI and TU Delft (Geoscience and Remote Sensing, CEG). Tropomi will replace OMI, that has been measuring worldwide pollution since 2004.

The new instrument not only measures more gases (such as carbon monoxide and methane), but it also does so twice as precisely (7 x 7 square kilometers per pixel).

Monitoring instrument Tropomi will be launched with satellite Sentinel 5 Precursor.

New students Some 3600 students started their Bachelor’s at TU Delft this year, of whom 2900 participated in the ‘Owee’ introduction week. Also some 1800 new international students came to Delft. During their introduction programme they were asked to make a mascot for Kinderdijk. delta.tudelft.nl/32051

Ice cold lab

The Faculty of EEMCS has a new laboratory: the cryolab, where TU Delft scientists can build instruments for astronomical research. The first instrument produced from this lab will be Deshima. “This device will be about as big as a refrigerator,” says Japanese astronomer and physicist Dr Akira Endo of the Tera-hertz Sensing group. “But inside Deshima it will be much colder; not far above absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius). The instrument will be part of the ASTE telescope in the Atacama desert in Chile and used to search for light emitted from galaxies 12.5 billion years ago.” delta.tudelft.nl/31952

Atomic disk

Although glad that his invention will make super-tiny hard disks possible in the future, researcher Dr Sander Otte (Kavli Institute for Nanoscience, Applied Sciences) is more interested in the deeper message behind his publication in Nature (18 July). Otte has demonstrated a memory of 8000 bytes comprising an arrangement of chlorine atoms on a copper surface. ‘As I tell everyone, data storage is only one potential application. The deeper message is that we have now demonstrated we can manipulate the world at atomic scale.’ delta.tudelft.nl/31944

Phishing

‘You credit card is going to deactivated. Click to here prevent.’ Why are phishing mails always written so poorly? Prof. Michel van Eeten (Cybersecurity at TPM) explains: “These messages are sent to everyone on the internet. If only 1% responds you’ll get 100 million emails.

That’s the last thing you want in that internet café in Lagos; your mailbox will crash. So these criminals focus on the most naive 0.0001 per cent of internet users and take time to build a relationship with them.” Van Eeten gave the Van Leeuwenhoek lecture in the Science Centre on 25 September. delta.tudelft.nl/32148

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Fast, faster, fastest

PHOTO: BAS DE MEIJER

Although beaten in Nevada, the Human Power Team, pedalled by former skater Jan Bos, managed to get the Velox6 up to 124.73 km/h. This speed earned a bronze medal. The Canadian Todd Reichert achieved a new world record with 144.55 km/h.

The human-powered submarine ‘Wasub’ had more success, achieving a new world record by covering the 170 metre long course at the European International Submarine Races in 78.3 seconds. The Formula Student Team won in Spain with their electric race car ‘DUT16’.

Delta.tudelft.nl/32144, 31943, 31727

Nuclear fusion

PHOTO: JOS WASSINK

The car as a power plant

Vincent Oldenbroek is studying the potential of cars as power sources in the Green Village.

A car hooked up to the electricity supply is a familiar sight. But the hydrogen car in the Green Village produces electricity

instead of using it. The maximum capacity of the Hyundai is 100 kilowatts, but it delivers 10 kilowatts of electricity to the grid.

PhD candidate Vincent Oldenbroek is conducting research for Prof. Ad van Wijk on the advantages of hydrogen cars for the electricity grid. How many would be needed to function as a buffer or backup to the national grid? And could future hospitals use their car parks as emergency generators? The Car as Power Plant (CaPP) programme is researching this. delta.tudelft.nl/31958

Searching the ocean floor

The last unexplored area on earth is the ocean floor. The mysteries of the deep could be charted by swarms of tiny submarines communicating with each other using acoustic pulses (a type of sonar). Various research groups around the world are exploring this technology. Dr Hamid Ramezani (EEMCS) worked on a Greek project entitled Noptilus. In the future such projects may help us locate missing plane wrecks (such as MH370) and the countless containers lost from cargo vessels. delta.tudelft.nl/ 31980

PHOTO: NOPTILUSPROJECT

PHOTO: ITER

Temperatures of more than 100 million degrees Celsius and alpha particles that destroy everything; the inside of a nuclear fusion reactor must truly be a hell. For her PhD research with the 3mE faculty, Dr Inês Carvalho studied what these conditions do to the material Eurofer97, a type of steel that could be used for parts inside a fusion reactor. Carvalho discovered that the strong radiation eventually turns the material brittle. Material researcher Dr Jilt Sietsma (3mE) and Dr Henk Schut of the RID will continue this research, focusing on another potential steel for reactors: Eurofer ODS. delta.tudelft.nl/32110

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Speed

Page 10: ‘Testing the rails’

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

‘A week on the test track is equivalent to a year on the railway.’ explains Dr Zili Li about the new test set-up in the Railway Engineering lab. The mini wheel racing around the track is used to measure the wear on the rails.

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NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

Speed

TEXT: SASKIA BONGER ILLUSTRATIONS: ANNELOES DE KOFF

Building for refugees How do you quickly provide housing for thousands of refugees? This is the question that Anneloes de Koff focused on answering in her Architectural Engineering graduation project. She joined forces with her teacher, Pieter Stoutjesdijk, and the pair went on to win a contest organised by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) with their ComfortCity concept. And in passing, they also solved a few other pressing issues.

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nneloes de Koff did not hesitate for long when, in early 2015, it was time to come up with a graduation topic for her Master in Architectural Engineering.

One topic dominated the headlines, whether on the radio, on television, on news websites or in the newspapers: the refugee crisis. “I was interested in examining the issue from my field of expertise,” she explains. “I had learnt to work with digital production techniques in my graduation studio.

Automation and speed are two advantages of these techniques. Applying what I had learnt to refugee housing seemed like a good idea.”

De Koff was awarded a 9.5 for her graduation project entitled ‘A Home for the Displaced’. At the time, Pieter Stoutjesdijk, one of her teachers, was also working on a similar concept. In the summer of 2016, both teacher and student individually

entered the ‘A Home Away from Home’ contest organised by the COA. De Koff made it through to the next round, while it was ‘better luck next time’ for the teacher. The two subsequently became business partners. After all, Stoutjesdijk had already built up extensive experience, established two companies – The New Makers and Fabrikoos – and also had a computer-controlled (CNC) milling machine.

Allen key

De Koff and Stoutesdijk got stuck into further development of the construction system. The final design consists of five types of wooden construction elements, which are cut into exactly the desired size on a milling machine. In addition to being very quick, the production method is also extremely accurate. The wooden joints dovetail

The self-construction has the advantage of creating a varied city with space for small shops and businesses.

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perfectly, which means that the elements come together like LEGO® blocks. A steel framework provides additional strength. The construction elements can be built around the framework in various compositions, on multiple storeys. The only tool required is an Allen key.

That means that the system can be disassembled, but also that the majority can be constructed

A varied city can be created, not somewhere out in the countryside, but inside vacant industrial properties and adapted by the future residents themselves.

“Refugees are not permitted to seek paid employment, so building your own house is a good way of putting in a day’s work,” is how De Koff sees it. She also thinks that the refugees themselves know best how to design their houses so that they actually become homes. “In Syria, for example, houses are often built around a patio.

The ultimate objective is naturally integration, but it could help make the transition to living in the Netherlands slightly more pleasant if people also have that here.”

After all, less insulation would be required, and there would be no need for waterproofing. “The initial cost is €66,000 for a house for eight people, which is fully in line with the requirements outlined in the Dutch Building Decree. When people leave, other people would be able to move into the house.”

De Koff and Stoutjesdijk constructed a prototype for Dutch Design Week in late October, to which they were invited as the winners of the COA contest. Stoutjesdijk thinks that it represents a fantastic opportunity. “The COA are not responsible for providing refugees with accommodation, that is up to the municipalities and housing corporations. Dutch Design Week will allow us to present our concept. I see it as an initial stepping stone at the start of an extremely long road.” A road that may someday lead to the actual realisation of their dream. (SB) <<

Self-construction

De Koff argues that another advantage associated with self-construction is that it facilitates the creation of a varied city, with space for shops and small businesses. And this does not necessarily need to be out in the countryside, it could also be inside vacant industrial properties. The 8.5 million m2 of vacant office space is viewed as a problem, but with 12.6 million m2 of unused space, vacant industrial properties are an even greater issue. On average, the price per m2 is also 50% lower at such properties. The pair looked into the matter and discovered that a large number of industrial properties currently lay vacant at locations close to existing communities and the associated facilities.

If refugees are permitted to build their temporary city at such locations, the property would be brought back into use and the production costs of houses for inside the building would remain low.

Just like the wall elements, the furniture is milled out based to the wishes of the residents.

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Speed

Testing the rails One mouse click and the iron cross behind the glass groans to life.

This is a new test installation to research wear on railway material.

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PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

ith nearly 100 h.p., the hefty engine can accelerate the 4-metre-wide cross to 1 revolution per second.

That is a fairly impressive speed, certainly when you are standing right next to the spectacle. Four times a second, a mini railway wheel races over the mini railway in the basement of the building housing the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

Dr Zili Li watches the installation proudly. He funded the million euros required for the test installation with work conducted by the railway engineering laboratory for external clients over the past decade. “A week on the test track is comparable to a year on the railway network,” explains Li. Every 10 seconds, 40 axles crash over each point of the circular rail – equivalent to a train every ten seconds. The speed on the test track is also equivalent to the 280 km/h speed achieved by a TGV train. Spring tension can be used to increase the force exerted on the wheels. And to accelerate wear even further, the wheels can be driven forward or slowed down, corresponding to the additional wear on wheels under a locomotive.

Dr.ir. Zili Li: “A week on the test track is comparable to a year on the railway network.”

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Turbulence They are getting in each other’s way. In the middle of a wind farm, windmills are being affected by the wake of upwind turbines. There is slightly less wind and considerably more turbulence. Dr Jan-Willem van Wingerden from the Delft Centre for Systems and Control (3mE) is working on control engineering for windmills to help solve this problem.

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n many cases, it is worthwhile allowing the windmills at the front to rotate at a slightly lower velocity. Van Wingerden’s simulations have shown that this means that the blades behind rotate faster. Dependent on the wind direction, such adjustments can result in a wind farm generating up to 12 percent more electricity.

“Another option is to turn the rotor of the windmills at the front slightly away from the prevailing wind, meaning that they no longer face the wind head-on. In turn, this alters the direction of the plume

ARTIST’S IMPRESSION: NASS&WIND

During the tests, wear on the wheels is measured down to the micrometre. The threedimensional acceleration measured in the bearings corresponds to the measurements conducted by the TU Delft ‘measurement train’ – a reallife carriage that travels on the Dutch railway network. The laboratory situation and reality are therefore comparable.

Li really comes into his own when asked about potential applications.

Wear measurements form the essence of theoretical descriptions.

Measurements that can be effectively reproduced are necessary in order to test mathematical models. A mathematical model for rail wear needs to link force and tension on the one hand with material composition and microstructures on the other. A valid model could potentially be used to design better quality materials that are less susceptible to wear.

Conversely, it is conceivable that the design of the rail and wheel could be improved, meaning that the current material lasts longer.

Whichever route is ultimately chosen, all improvements begin with thorough and reproducible measurements. And that is something that recently became possible in a basement in Delft. JW

of turbulence behind the turbines and means that the other windmills suffer fewer negative effects.”

Floating windmills are another promising possibility.

“You could essentially reposition floating windmills within a wind farm.”The engineer has even more of these ideas to allow windmills to spin faster, some of which he is testing with colleagues in the US. They have created an installation featuring lasers (LIDAR), which enables them to visualise the turbulent plumes behind the turbines.

TvD

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Speed

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

Towing tank upgrade Rescue teams, the Navy and ferry services: nowadays, everyone zooms around on the water. Research is vital to ensure that rapid water travel remains safe and comfortable.

Professor Cornel Thill thinks the towing tank at the Faculty of 3mE is in need of an upgrade.

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nd that is why the towing tank at the Faculty of 3mE is in need of an upgrade, explains new faculty head Professor Cornel Thill. He is witnessing an increasing demand for rapid water travel. Customs officers want to be able to travel at 70 knots (126 km/h), otherwise they can be outrun by smugglers. The Navy also needs fast ships for interventions all around the world. Also ferry connections need to be quick and comfortable, the latest example being the Breskens-Vlissingen ferry, with its twin hull resembling two narrow submerged torpedoes (known as a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull, aka SWATH). And we have yet to mention the speedy transit ships that will

be needed for the construction of the five offshore wind farms destined to be built off the Dutch coast. Rapid water travel is clearly on the rise, but how can it be made safe and comfortable? At high speeds on water, the blows can have quite an impact. Acceleration exceeding gravity by ten times is not uncommon. And that is why captains used to like to stand on a wooden crate, explains Thill. If the boat took a heavy hit, it was better to fall through a crate than risk damaging your knees. It was a similar accident that inspired Thill’s predecessor, Dr Lex Keuning, to develop the axe bow for fast travelling ships. Tests in the towing tank can replicate behaviour at high speeds and in rough seas.

But no longer effectively enough, believes Thill, who previously worked at the Marin Deep Water Towing Tank (Wageningen) and managed the towing tank in Duisburg. As part of the upgrade envisaged by Thill, the current vessel will be replaced by a lighter version that can reach a top speed of 15 m/s within a few seconds of measurement time when towed along the length of the 142m-long tank. This would enable the Delft towing tank to make its way back into the top echelons of maritime research. Thill argues that the current tank fails to distinguish itself sufficiently from what is also possible elsewhere. With this aim in mind, a post-doc has commenced preliminary research. JW

Ready for boarding It is about time to end all that messing around with hand luggage in planes.

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rofessor Peter Vink from the Applied Ergonomics and Design Department (IDE) has received a piece of aircraft fuselage from Norwegian Air. He plans to transform the aeronautical gift into a laboratory in order to research plane boarding procedures. Efficient hand luggage storage is a crucial part of boarding. If passengers are not able to find a space in the overhead lockers quickly, queues form in the aisle, and the aircraft remains grounded for too long.

‘We have some ideas regarding how to speed up boarding,’ explains Vink. ‘We can determine the size and geometry of hand luggage prior to boarding and inform people where to put their luggage.’

Another idea is to allow passengers with a window seat to board first. But that sounds simpler than it actually is. You have to take account of groups that want to board together. And of frequent flyers, who always have priority.

A mathematician has spent six months puzzling over the optimal boarding formula.

The research is part of Passme, an EU project headed by TU Delft that also involves KLM, Transavia and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Industrial Design Engineering students will probably also be taught in the aircraft. ‘But not the first-year students,’ warns Vink.

‘There are hundreds of them, so we would need an A380.’ TvD

ILLUSTRATION: STEPHAN TIMMERS

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A million times faster Wi-Fi It could already be a reality at the 2024 Olympic Games: a stadium packed with 80,000 supporters who are all able to share a match-winning goal simultaneously via popular streaming video channels.

“Forget 5G or 6G,” says Dr Nuria Llombart from the Faculty of EEMCS’ Terahertz Sensing Group. “Wait for XG. That will turn us all into cyborgs who can go online instantaneously and wherever we are, at speeds that are currently only available via optical fibre networks. It will be a million times faster than it is at the moment.”

Associate Professor Llombart (38) received a grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in 2015 for the development of terahertz antennas that can be used in applications such as terahertz communications. The €1.5 million grant will support her research until 2020.

Up until now, terahertz radiation has primarily been used in the fields of astronomy and security. TU Delft is working as part of a European

Consortium to develop terahertz cameras for airport security, which can quickly scan large numbers of people for concealed items.

And now terahertz communication has become the latest field of research.

Today’s smartphones operate at a frequency of 1 gigahertz, which is 1,000 times slower than 1 terahertz.

A higher frequency – think in terms of 100 gigahertz or more – would mean increased bandwidth for communication and therefore faster wireless internet.

One difficulty is that the wavelength of approximately 1 millimetre is small compared to mobile phone antennas. And then there is the fact that terahertz waves are transmitted in lines just as straight as those of light. In other words, you need to be able to see

the antenna in order to get reception.

As a side note: this is not a problem in the case of sports stadiums and music venues.

But what is needed are new forms of composite antennas and highspeed electronics in order to process terahertz signals. Llombart believes that the industry is capable of manufacturing terahertz transistors within ten years. “It is not a question of whether it is possible, but of whether the semiconductor industry is willing to provide the necessary investment. ” Three ERC grants currently support the Delft Terahertz Sensing Group, which collaborates closely with worldleading institutes such as SRON, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the ESA. JW

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Speed

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

Rapid solutions for the changing climate The forecast is certainly not bright: climate researchers predict that the world is set to face drought, floods and extreme weather with increasing frequency. It is up to Brigaid, a European research project, to seek out innovative solutions.

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he key question for Brigaid is how to respond effectively to looming crises.

Consider, for example, extremely high water levels: a new range of solutions has now been developed that go beyond the traditional sandbags. Or forest fires, where early warning systems can mean the difference between life and death.

One of Brigaid’s responsibilities is to assess innovations in this field on the basis of three criteria. First, is it possible to conduct thorough technical testing on the innovations, and are they reliable and quick to apply?

The flexible Tube Barrier fills itself with rising water without using a pump.

Second, is there social support for innovative ideas such as this? The third and final concern is that the innovative idea must be commercially viable.

Part of the research therefore involves developing a standard method to critically examine the impact of the numerous innovative ideas, but also to help them secure investors. A certificate should be introduced proclaiming that Brigaid has recommended an idea as being ‘excellent’. ‘In this way, Brigaid bridges the gap between the innovation and the end user,’ says project manager Roelof Moll. The ultimate aim is to bring 25 to 30 of the most

promising, genuine innovations to market – an objective that sees Brigaid collaborating closely with organisations such as Flood Proof Holland in Delft.

Flood Proof Holland is home to an experimental polder located alongside the A13 motorway, specially developed for testing temporary water defences designed to prevent flooding.

Innovations that have undergone testing at the site include the BoxBarrier – a system of connected 50-centimetre-high plastic boxes that can be pumped full of water – and the flexible Tube Barrier that fills itself with rising water without using a pump. CvU

In May 2016, universities, research institutes and companies from 13 countries began collaborating in Brigaid (Bridging the Gap for Innovations in Disaster Resilience).

The four-year project is headed by Bas Jonkman, Professor of Integral Hydraulic Engineering. Brigaid is financed by a €7.8 million subsidy from Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

Ship shaker

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t can go any which way, and at immense speeds. Mirek Kaminski, Professor of Ship and Offshore Structures, wants to use his hexapod to accelerate research into how floating constructions are affected by years of exposure to waves. In just one month, Kaminski is able to reveal symptoms of fatigue that normally only become apparent in welded ship constructions after twenty years.

Measuring 6 x 6 x 3 metres, the

hexapod fills an entire room. Objects of approximately 1 cubic metre fit inside the machine. And with six cylinders, it can move in all directions.

‘It can also glide, push and twist, the hexapod can generate all feasible forces,’ explains Kaminski. The specifications are pretty impressive. ‘It is a monster machine. And extremely accurate. It can create 100 tonnes of force, but we can also determine the position of the cylinders down to two

micrometres.’ In February, the machine will be installed in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences building. TvD

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Evacuation can be learned What happens if hordes of people suddenly hit the streets due to an evacuation? Researchers from the Transport & Planning Department are creating traffic models that allow them to analyse various scenarios. After all, you do not want everyone to end up in the same traffic jam.

Pel. If the model indicates bottlenecks, you could give people specific instructions. Traffic control measures can be used to manage the situation, public transport can be mobilised, or timetables adjusted.

In recent years, the researchers examined the effects of measures such as modifying traffic light configurations and the amount of traffic allowed on slip roads, adjusting speed limits and allowing cars to travel in the ‘wrong’ direction on some roads. One of the aspects revealed by a study researching the evacuation of Rotterdam was that the bottlenecks are primarily located at slip roads onto the ring road. Pel believes that traffic information can help, but only if an alternative route is available.

This autumn, the research will be extended to include urban evacuations using multiple means of transport.

“When car-centred evacuations grind to a halt, buses using the same infra-

Fastest solar car It’s actually not really that fast; the Nuon Solar Team’s Nuna8. The solar car

needed six days to travel 4717 kilometres across South Africa. However, the team once again absolutely broke a record: this time the longest distance ever travelled in a solar race. This performance was good for first place in the

structure will also grind to a halt,” says Pel. “On the other hand: if you can direct people towards the bus, you can evacuate more people per surface area.”

The Transport & Planning Department is also researching interactions between individuals. “To a certain extent, you make your own decisions regarding your evacuation, but if you are part of a household and a social group, you exchange information, and joint decisions are made regarding evacuation,” says Pel. Emergencies also need to be considered that cannot be predicted far in advance, and where members of the household are in different places. “You then have to take into account the fact that they will probably first return home or meet up in order to leave together.” In effect, the researchers are trying to collate and build models for human behaviour. “The social side of things is fascinating.” CvU

15 Sasol Solar Challenge, and the team’s eighth world title, even though there had been setbacks along the way: they were blown off the road during a storm, their motor almost overheated on a mountain pass and they were pulled over by curious police officers. DvG

PHOTO: NUON SOLAR TEAM

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t is difficult to predict how people will actually act when evacuated in an emergency.

Where will they head? When will they leave? Which route will they take? Research into evacuation is split between examining behavioural aspects and traffic management, explains researcher Adam Pel. The models used

by Pel and his colleagues are based on what they learn from questionnaires, observations during evacuations in other countries and their own studies.

Their models elucidate aspects such as how much traffic there will be at certain junctions, how quickly the traffic will flow with specific traffic light configurations and where (and how long) the tailbacks will be. All of this information could potentially help the authorities. “The authorities will want to delay the decision to evacuate for as long as possible, until more information is available and certainty regarding what is actually going to happen,” says

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Speed

TEXT: JOS WASSINK PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

Professor Rinze Benedictus has high expectations of the new custom production process..

Quicker and smarter production The new KUKA robot forms a significant link in research into accelerating custom production, a concept commonly known as Industry 4.0 or smart manufacturing.

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hat robots are capable of producing at impressive speeds is nothing new. Just think of the complicated production processes at car factories.

However, the new robot in the composites lab at the Aerospace Engineering Faculty is not bothered with serial production.

Head of research Professor Rinze Benedictus (Aerospace Structures & Materials) explains. “We now need a new standard for the mass production of tailor-made products.” Custom production is the new standard when it comes to aircraft manufacturing.

For example, every Airbus A320 Neo is produced according to the client’s individual specifications. Smart manu-

facturing is currently under development for safety-critical load-bearing structures such as aircraft, cars, wind turbines and bridges, but other production lines could also benefit.

The KUKA robot is standardly fitted with sensors to control the position and speed of the arm. Product-oriented sensors will also soon be introduced to monitor the quality of the composites during production. Should a problem arise during fibre wrapping or synthetic resin application, the robot itself will be able to intervene and correct the issue. The idea behind this continuous quality control is to prevent production faults so that rejected final products will become a thing of the past.

Flexible mass production

Flexible mass production uses modern technologies such as sensors, feedback loops, big data and 3D printing. Assistant Professor Calvin Rans explains that the industry is already applying smart mass production in parts of the process. “It has become a fashiona-

ble term because the concept unites various disciplines such as materials engineering, product design, sensor technology and production processes with knowledge of what clients want and need.”

Nevertheless, the research field is still enormous. “One of the challenges,” adds Rans, “is knowing what to do with all the data generated during production. Can we use the data in such a way that through a feedback procedure, the production process becomes self-learning?”

Benedictus has high expectations of the new custom production processes: “Smart manufacturing can be beneficial to customers, it results in more sustainable production, and it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the European manufacturing industry.

And because it will be quicker and cheaper to realise innovative ideas, it will also cut the time before it becomes clear whether the ideas actually result in viable products.” JW

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View I

Forget trains. In 30 years’ time, we will be whizzing through narrow tubes at the speed of sound.

t will be a bit like an air tube post dispatch system, transporting us between cities spread over the entire continent. The low air pressure in the tunnels means that the vessels – cigar-shaped capsules – experience minimal air resistance as they glide along. TU Delft student Tim Houter and his team from Delft Hyperloop are working on a version of this futuristic means of transport.

In late January, they will participate in the international Hyperloop Pod Competition in Hawthorne, California. The event is the brainchild of Elon Musk, the man behind space travel company SpaceX. Hundreds of teams will come together to test their 1:2 scaled designs on a 1.6-kilometre track located next to the SpaceX headquarters.

“The Hyperloop is the future,” says Houter. “That is not wishful thinking, I really am convinced. Numerous parties from the sector are interested in the technology.”

Construction of a Hyperloop system need not be too complicated. Houter explains, “The tubes will be positioned on top of columns, which means that geographic relief hardly causes any issues. You create a horizontal route with columns that vary in height in accordance with the height of the land.

This approach is unthinkable for trains; they are much too heavy. The Hyperloops are really light.”

“Each vessel can accommodate between 30 and 100 passengers. During rush hour, a Hyperloop could depart every 30

seconds. A journey from Amsterdam to Paris would take less than half an hour.”

Houter does still see aircraft playing a role for the time being. “In 30 years’ time, we will still use planes to cross oceans. But Hyperloop tubes will eventually also run directly over the sea. However, positioning the tubes there is more complex. You need to ensure that the columns are firmly embedded, and high pressure also comes into the equation.”

Houter thinks his team has a decent chance of winning the competition in the US. “A fairly unique aspect of our design is that we use passive permanent magnets to allow the Hyperloop to glide through the tubes, stabilise it and slow it down. Lots of other teams use electromagnets. Our design is lighter, more efficient and more reliable.”

And what about safety? If something goes wrong, you are locked up in one of those tubes. “In that respect, there is no difference compared to an airplane. You are also locked up in a cigar-shaped vessel. But an advantage of the Hyperloop is that you cannot crash to earth. For instance, if propulsion fails, the vessels automatically make an emergency stop. Openings will be built into the tubes so that passengers can escape if something goes wrong.

People will have to get used to the concept, but that is the same with all new technologies.” TvD

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‘Minding the shop is too easy for me’ After 32 years at TU Delft, on 1 May Professor Tim van der Hagen became its president. What are his plans for the university? “I’d like to create more of a sense of pride here.”

TEXT CONNIE VAN UFFELEN PHOTOS SAM RENTMEESTER

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NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

One of your aims is to reduce workloads. Can you explain?

“I could say, ‘Delft is in a fantastic position – let’s just carry on as we are and I’ll mind the shop.’ But that’s too easy for me. And I know from experience that it’s not in the nature of our staff and students, either. Our community always wants to make progress. To do more and to do it better.

That’s a fine quality, of course, but as a consequence our staff are finding more and more work on their plates. If we want to be a world-class university, and to remain one, we’re going to have to make choices. We’ll have to say ‘no’ to certain things.”

Like what?

“We still have to look at that.”

Tough…

CV

“It’s not something we’re good at, you’re right.

If you were to ask me what we’ve not done in the past twenty years, I’d have to think long and hard. When I was director of the Reactor Institute Delft, I said, ‘We have to publish less.’ Less but better. Quality, not quantity. As a scientist, you need some scope for creativity. Feeling constant pressure to deliver more, rather than better, is not good. From my own experience I know that that’s unsatisfying. Publishing one innovative article or training one good engineer feels far better than producing three mediocre ones.”

Tim van der Hagen studied Applied Physics at Eindhoven before taking his PhD at Delft, passing in 1989. Ten years later he was professor of Reactor Physics. Between 2005 and 2012 he was director of the Reactor Quality rather than quantity, then.

Institute Delft and in “Absolutely, yes. And if we’re going to take a step 2010 was appointed forward quality-wise, we have to cut back the dean of the Faculty quantity of some things.” of Applied Sciences.

Professor van der Any examples?

Hagen currently sits “We spend a lot of time on research and not so on the supervisory much on education. Which is understandable, board of the Energy because society values research results. They’re Research Centre of tangible. But I think our people should have more the Netherlands. He time to teach – perhaps even at the cost of reseis also a member of arch time on some occasions. A lot of scientists the National Advisory submit one funding application after the other.

Council for Science, Technology and Inno- They may all be excellent, but limited resources vation. He has been mean that some are bound to fail. So it’s a real president of TU Delft shame they’ve wasted their time. We certainsince 1 May 2016, with ly can’t blame the researchers for that, but the a portfolio including Dutch and European systems.” human resources – because, as he puts What can you do about that? it, “The university is “One simple solution would be more money. You could also argue for fewer funding rounds. Hand about people.”

out bigger sums of money each time, instead of paying out bit by bit. That would help. Look at the number of students we have here: 22,000. They receive a great education, find jobs quickly and are in demand from industry. We as a university could play a big part in solving the problems facing society. We have the research facilities, we have the researchers and we have the students.

The only thing we don’t have is the financial resources. As a society, it’s a shame that you’re not generating the maximum return on your investment in the university. That’s why we have to say, ‘This course is full – any more students and we can’t guarantee its quality.’ If you as a society had a little more money to spend, you’d get a much bigger return on it. For your own benefit. That’s my message to the government.”

What are your plans for the university?

“I’d like to see more of a sense of pride here. A feeling of excellence. A feeling that it’s an honour to be able to work or study here. Of pride at being at TU Delft. This is not just a university – it’s one of the best.”

Why pride?

“First, because I think it’s justified. And second because it creates a sense of community that produces even better performance. A passion for mutual encouragement and motivation. We’re all united in training the next generation of engineers. We’re generating new knowledge and we’re in touch with the opinion leaders, the knowledge institutions and the industries that matter, all over the world. If we can become more aware of that, and help one another build on it, our output will improve and we’ll feel better working here.”

Output? Just now you were calling for quality over quantity.

“I mean quality of output, not quantity.”

How do you respond to the proposition that Delft should stop growing – small is beautiful?

“Grow in what way?”

Student numbers.

“No, that’s too simplistic.”

Small is beautiful?

“Small sounds negative. Beautiful, fine. We’re a university that matters and we have a large number of students. We undertake a complete spec-

21 For the past six years you have been dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences. Has becoming president put the university in a new perspective for you?

“A broader one, perhaps. I know the university reasonably well in broad terms, but not yet in so much depth. I’m currently touring the academic departments. That’s really enjoyable. We have some great examples of different disciplines coming together. At Applied Sciences and EEMCS

‘We’re generating new knowledge and we’re in touch with the opinion leaders, the knowledge institutions and the industries that matter, all over the world’ trum of technical and scientific research. Science, design, engineering… I think we’re exactly the right size. I certainly wouldn’t want us to be any smaller, because that would mean cutting valuable work. If we make greater use of e-learning to serve more students around the world, you could say we’d be growing. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I’m all in favour. If we can deliver more engineers of the same quality using the same resources, that can only be a good thing.”

Climbing the rankings is a goal for Delft, yes or no?

“No. But it should be a logical result of what we do. My goal is the pursuit of excellence. I’m convinced that the rankings will reflect that.”

What does Brexit mean for TU Delft’s academic partnerships?

“That’s not clear yet. We have good reason to be concerned, though, given the fact that we attract a lot of European funding through Horizon 2020 and we work a lot with the UK. That will undoubtedly continue, but the financing will change. Whether they carry on funding so much research from their national budget remains to be seen.”

there’s QuTech, of course, which is investigating quantum computers and the quantum internet together with TNO. I’m really keen on robotics, too: that comes into just about every domain we’re active in. Mechanical and electrical engineering, naturally, but industrial design engineering as well. And technology, policy and management – how do they respond to robotics? Applied sciences, new materials, aerospace engineering…

They’re all fields with something to gain from robotics. I think we have a lot to come in that area.”

As well as university president, I see from the website of your band, Make My Day, that you’re a “keyboard wizard”.

When can we expect your first gig at the International Festival of Technology?

“I’d love to be invited, but we have actually played the university already. At a New Year’s party and a professors’ dinner. I’ve been playing music since I was at school – first the guitar and now keyboards. Covers. Swing music. Stevie Wonder, that sort of thing. And I’m going to try to keep it up.” <<

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TEXT: JOS WASSINK PHOTOS: SAM RENTMEESTER

Man of steel

The debate has been going on for almost fifteen years, but only now are we gaining a clear picture of crystal formation in steel. TU Delft metals expert Erik Offerman (3mE) maintains that the established theory is wrong.

W

ho knew that you can tell the quality of the steel used in cars from their shape? The undulating forms and tight folds in modern bodywork would not be possible without today’s strong yet easily malleable steel. Cars used to be much more angular for a reason. Their improved safety and lower weight are also largely down to stronger materials. And that in turn is all about the crystal structure of the steel: as a rule, smaller crystals make for stronger, tougher metal.

You can compare a steel cylinder with a jar of salt: it may look like a solid substance, but it is actually a collection of tightly packed crystals. In the case of steel – iron with a small percentage of added carbon – the structure of those crystals varies.

“That allows for a wide range of properties,” says Dr Erik Offerman, a materials expert in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the 3mE Faculty. “Steel is one of the substances in which the crystal structure can change even when it’s in its solid state, and that offers huge opportunities when it comes to working the metal.”

THE BLACKSMITH’S SECRET

Erik Offerman: “With a better understanding of crystal formation, you can tailor the properties of steel to your advantage.”

In prescientific times, blacksmiths jealously guarded their secrets. Only the initiated knew how hot the iron should be (they could tell the temperature from the colour it glowed), when to cool it and how much you could safely work it with the hammer and anvil. The names of various forms of crystal found in steel hark back to those days.

Ferrite is a basic structure, found in the steel used in bridges, beams and car bodywork. Austenite is the form in stainless steel, which is malleable yet resistant to aggressive chemicals. Martensite,

23

When the temperature rises from 830 to 850 degrees Celcius, you can aactually see the ferrite disappear and austenite crystels form in its place. named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens, makes for a hardened and hard-to-shape steel. And so on – there are several more.

SCIENTIFIC FEUD

For metallurgists, the phase transitions of steel make a fascinating research subject. In 2002 Offerman and his current professor, Jilt Sietsma, were given the opportunity to investigate these phenomena at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble. Using hard monochrome X-rays, they established how ferrite crystals form as steel is cooled from 900 to 600 degrees Celsius. In a paper in Science, they concluded that the established theory of crystal formation was incorrect. That publication marked the beginning of a scientific feud which continues to this day.

Two years later, Professor H. I. Aaronson of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, questioned the reliability of the Dutch scientists’ experiment. Their technique, he argued, was not refined enough and the actions of surrounding crystals could have tainted the results.

SPECIAL OVEN

In new results published this summer, Offerman shows dozens of individually distinguishable crystals. These are in a cylinder with a diameter of 1 millimetre, which is heated in a special oven as the whole set-up rotates under X-rays to enable it to be imaged tomographically. The oven itself is a remarkable piece of engineering. Its brass housing supports a quartz vial, 1 centimetre in height. This contains a heating element with an internal diameter of 2 millimetres. Using

a modest 40 watts of power, that reaches a temperature of 1500 degrees Celsius with the X-ray detector less a 1 centimetre away. The quartz shroud makes it possible to rotate the sample under the X-rays.

When the temperature rises from 830 to 850 degrees Celsius, you can actually see the ferrite disappear and austenite crystals form in its place.

With this experiment, Offerman, Sietsma and their colleague Hemant Sharma have shown for the first time that ferrite initially transforms into austenite at points where adjacent crystals have a special crystallographic orientation. In ascending order of preference, those points are where a nucleus has such a special relationship with one, two, three or four neighbouring grains of ferrite.

According to Aaronson, a pillbox-shaped nucleus with two neighbouring parent grains should provide the most favourable conditions. However, these latest results do not support the preference for two neighbouring grains.

PLAYING WITH MICROSTRUCTURES

Offerman’s fundamental research has many potentially important applications. As an example, he cites his work on heat-resistant steel following the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York in the attacks of 11 September 2001.

In a 2008-2013 project for technology foundation STW, funded by a Vidi grant from NWO, Offerman succeeded in making a more fire-retardant steel by adding niobium to the alloy.

Since then, however, he has also realised the drawbacks of using niobium on a wide scale: it all has to be imported and is hard to recycle. Instead, he now says, “With a better understanding of crystal formation, you can play with the microstructure [of steel] and so tailor its properties to your

‘Steel is one of the substances in which the crystal structure can change even when it’s in its solid state’ advantage. In the long term, this will create a sustainable materials system without adding so many other substances.

You change the microstructure by varying the rate of cooling or altering the speed of deformation.” A bit like the blacksmith used to do, only now you can actually look inside the metal. <<

IN PERSON

Professor Hester Bijl DEAN OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

After 3.5 years as the Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Hester Bijl is moving on to Leiden University. She will be the Vice-Rector Magnificus and a member of the board. Bijl has held the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek chair in aerodynamics since 2006. Prof.

Rinze Benedictus will be her temporary replacement as acting dean.

PHOTOS: SAM RENTMEESTER

Professor Ronald Hanson

QUANTUM NANOSCIENCE

Ronald Hansen has won the Huibregtsen prize for innovative research of major relevance to society.

The jury was impressed by the experiment he conducted last year, which achieved entanglement remotely. It could be used as the basis for unhackable security on the internet.

“As soon as you take a measurement of one of the particles, it instantaneously determines the state of both entangled particles.

The effect is immediate.”

Professor Bernhard Brandl ASTRODYNAMICS & SPACE MISSIONS

Bernhard Brandl, professor of infrared astronomy at Leiden University, also became an AE professor in Delft this month.

Brandl is working on instruments to equip the world’s largest telescopes, such as the European Extremely Large Telescope. These telescopes make it possible to observe objects in the universe that are more than 30 billion years old.

Ir Marian Loth INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING

At the end of August, the Dutch Railways unveiled a new train featuring a toilet designed by doctoral candidate Marian Loth. According to Loth, the urinal ensures that the toilet bowl stays cleaner and makes trips to the toilet more pleasant for both women and older people.

By 2020, it is anticipated that there will be 81 double-decker trains equipped with these toilets.

Olympic champions Several TU Delft athletes who travelled to Rio de Janeiro in August have returned armed with medals. Rower Chantal Achterberg won silver in the quadruple sculls. This is what she said about her chances beforehand: “It is a very close field, so every race is touch-and-go. If things go well, they go extremely well, but we could also end up last.”

Proteus Eretes rowing cox Peter Wiersum led the Dutch eights, in which Laga member Olivier Siegelaar was in position number five, known as ‘the boat’s power station’, to a bronze medal. Rower Ellen Hogerwerf achieved sixth position with the women’s

eight. Sailor Annette Duetz achieved seventh place in the 49er FX class, alongside Annemiek Bekkering.

Much of their preparation for Rio was done independently, since they lost

their position in the national selection to another team in 2015. ‘Despite the disappointment, we are proud of what we have achieved together in recent years,’ they wrote afterwards.

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“We design products, but what does that add to the world?” As a student of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE), Marjolein Demmers was searching for answers. It was only once she decided to take some Environmental Studies courses in Amsterdam that she found what she was looking for. Long before “design for sustainability” and “product lifestyle analysis”, in 1992 Demmers embarked upon a graduation project on ecodesign at The Body Shop.

After a spell with Pré Consultants, she moved to the Centre for Design in Australia. By now she was putting ecodesign in practice, but still found it hard to interest businesses in sustainability. “If you want a cleaner product or process, that takes a strategy and investment. We had to convince managers with real business cases.”

That was what she did with her next employer, McKinsey, too. “Unfortunately, the main interest in boardrooms at that time was the internet hype. I did some great projects in different countries, but I was unable to find my direction. I was too early.”

Demmers sought refuge at energy company Edon, soon to become part of Essent. “A wonderful time, because I was able to combine activities in waste management, sustainability and energy.”

In 2014 she moved to DHV, where she doubled the size of her Environmental and Sustainability Consultancy Unit and embedded those issues in all the firm’s work. When DHV merged with Royal Haskoning, Demmers

Marjolein Demmers is the new director of Dutch Sustainable Business, an association of companies with “green” principles. For her, this completes a circle which began at Delft.

Name: Place of residence: Marital status: Degree programme:

Marjolein Demmers Amersfoort Married, two children Industrial Design Engineering (1986-1993) Student society: Virgiel Website: Degroenezaak.com

reshaped the group’s international sustainability and integrity policy.

She also joined the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure, a strategic advisory body to the Dutch government.

In January 2016 she went to Dutch Sustainable Business (DSB) as deputy director, and six months later was made director. For her, the move was a logical one. “I was very active inter-

‘We need to transition to sustainable production before it’s too late’ nationally, but I’d started to wonder where the Netherlands was. There are a lot of initiatives, of course, but the time has come to speed up.”

As pioneers of sustainability,

Demmers believes that the members of DSB can lead the way. “We help each other and we make sure that sustainability is on the political agenda, encouraging government to create the right conditions and remove obstacles. That’s urgent. We need to transition to sustainable production before it’s too late. That means putting in some hard work.” Demmers hopes that more businesses will join DSB, not least in their own interest.

“It should be obvious that being with us is a path to success, because sustainable production chains offer so many business opportunities. That nicely completes the circle I started at university. Back then we were designing for reuse and low impact.

Now those same ideas are coming up again, but this time as strategic chances.” CvU

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

After Delft

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TEXT: JOS WASSINK PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

Building for eternity O

The repository now being designed for the Netherlandsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; radioactive waste will have to last a hundred thousand years.

ne day, our great-grandchildren will build a complex of tunnels. The main tunnel will zigzag downwards to a depth of several hundred metres, where it opens up into a system of corridors many kilometres long. Every fifty metres or so, tunnels will branch

off to dead ends. Once construction is complete, a constant stream of lorries will come and go. They will be bringing radioactive waste from Zeeland to this final resting place, somewhere in a deep layer of Dutch clay or salt. When they have done their job, peace will return to the vaults. No human being will ever

Phil Vardon with the oedometer, a device used to pressurise soil samples and measure their tiny deformation responses.

have to come here again. Piled high with steel and concrete canisters full of waste, the side tunnels will be sealed off with clay or salt.

The repository has been designed to last at least a hundred thousand years.

Everything about the place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the seals, the multiple layers of steel and concre-

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te, the stability of the ground and the depth – is intended to ensure that any such migration takes far longer than the half-life of even the most persistent isotopes inside, says Dr Ewoud Verhoef. He is deputy director of Covra, the Dutch Central Organisation for Radioactive Waste, and in charge of its programme of research into the geological disposal of that waste, Opera.

OPERA

Most of the Opera projects were completed earlier this year. They are due to be presented to the public in November, in co-operation with the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers (KIVI).

Several parties contributed to the €10 million programme. Its technical coordinator is Covra researcher Dr Erika Neeft.

For the next hundred years, until it has cooled sufficiently, the waste will remain where it now is: in orange bunkers at the nuclear power station in Borssele.

Even that is not a permanent solution, however. “Long-term storage means for the period between a hundred years and a hundred thousand,” says Neeft.

“For that timeframe, geological disposal is the only option. The material has to be kept deep underground until it’s no longer hazardous.”

In the basement of the university’s Civil Engineering and Geosciences block, lecturer Dr Phil Vardon demonstrates a device used to pressurise soil samples and measure their tiny deformation responses. This oedometer is just about the only tangible evidence of the

The main tunnel opens up into a system of corridors many kilometres long.

Every fifty metres tunnels will branch off to dead ends.

3 The waste will be secured in canisters of steel and concrete.

1

2

experimental work being done by the Department of Geoscience and Engineering: most of its efforts to develop a mathematical model describing the behaviour of a layer of clay under pressure are in the form of computer data. But Vardon has tested samples taken from the Boom clay formations in Belgium here in the lab. Geologically, this is the same stratum as in the Netherlands, but across the border it is deeper underground and that makes a difference.

Vardon and his colleague, Dr Patrick Arnold, are investigating the feasibility of the underground repository design.

Can it be built at a depth of 500 metres?

And what will happen to the surrounding rock and soil when it is heated by the radioactive waste?

FEASIBLE

Construction of the complex will damage the rock around it to a distance of 10-15 metres. A build-up of heat in the passageways will raise the pressure inside the porous clay and so affect its loading-bearing ability. Despite this, say Vardon, Arnold and Dr Michael Hicks in their final report, in principle the design is feasible in terms of geological stability and heat production. It even seems that the side tunnels can be built closer together than envisaged – less than 50 metres apart – and to a slightly less rigorous specification.

“Vardon’s model shows how the concrete structure performs,” explains Verhoef. “Not only under these conditions, but also in possible modified future designs.”

Erika Neeft is the person with the best overview of the programme. She says that a variety of potential participants were approached initially, with the final partnership determined by evaluating the research proposals they submitted.

TNO analysed relevant soil samples from the Central Core Sample Store, a geological archive. NRG calculated the mobility of various radioactive substances. Deltares looked at groundwater flows. SCK-CEN provided clay samples from its Hades repository. BGS supplied data about soil permeability as a function of depth. And Utrecht University investigated the underground bonding of fissile materials.

FINAL REPORT

Neeft is bringing together all the research findings for November’s final report. This will also reveal what unknowns remain. The location of the repository still has to be decided, too.

As well as the site’s geological suitability, says Neeft, that will depend upon its acceptance by people living nearby.

“The local community has to benefit from hosting the repository, otherwise no-one will agree to it.” Of course, it helps that there is no great hurry. << Between 27 June and 1 July 2016, TU Delft hosted the second Petrus-Opera conference. About fifty PhD students from across Europe discussed their research into the permanent disposal of radioactive waste.

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TEXT: JOS WASSINK PHOTOS: SAM RENTMEESTER ILLUSTRATION: LUCAS ROZENBOOM

An extension of yourself When you see how slowly they work, it seems unlikely that robots could ever take over the job of the home help. So what will the domestic automaton do?

T

he developers of robots for the care sector like to brandish the demographic time bomb. “In 2025, and that’s very

soon, there’ll four times as many eighty-year-olds as there are now,” says one Dutch researcher in the documentary Ik ben Alice (I am Alice). The post-war baby-boomer generation is poised to

Rose encourages independence, movement and social contact, and provides a sense of security.

push the care services to their limits.

Demand will increase, but there is never going to be four times today’s capacity. Let alone four times the budget.

Fortunately, technology is coming to

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fo rc e fe e d b a c k .

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Actions • Garbage bag on stage • Pick up garbage bag • Navigate to front door • Put down garbage bag on a stage • Open door • Pick up garbage bag and put it outside • Close door

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our aid. More and more initiatives are trying to let robots work with people.

Despite recent advances, the average living room remains a jungle for most robots. Of course, it helps that the elderly tend to prefer homes without staircases. But even so, every bump, cable and discarded walking stick on the floor is a dangerous obstacle for a wheeled machine. Their vision may be improving all the time, helped by stereo cameras and advanced image-recognition software, but finding your reading glasses amongst everything else remains a tough challenge.

Especially if they happen to be in the fridge. And then there are all the doors, narrow gaps and other potential traps.

If you are lucky, your robot will have an arm. But you try pouring a drink

T h e te a m i s w

without a second one. There are still plenty of challenges to overcome if robots are to be much use around the house, then. Which is probably why a lot of researchers confine their efforts to making their machines cuddly, talkative or simply mobile communication platforms (see ‘Robots about the house’).

IPADS ON WHEELS

The Delft developers working on the robot Rose 2.0 at the Science Centre dismiss those platforms as ‘iPads on wheels’. And they know better than anyone how tough it is to persuade a robot to roll up its sleeves.

Their demonstration begins promisingly enough. Rose is going to fetch a pen I left on the other side of the room.

Finding your reading glasses amongst everything else remains a tough challenge

She comes to life with a start, turns in the right direction and rolls off her own accord, deftly avoiding a cupboard and passing the long table. Rose has a map of the room in her memory, explains Jeroen Wildenbeest, leader of the Care Robotics project. She is constantly scanning her surroundings to work out where she is on the map.

When somebody walks in front of her, she ‘sees’ them too and waits until the coast is clear.

Once Rose reaches the table, though, one of her developers has to take control. Monitoring the image from her stereo camera on his laptop, he looks for the pen and then manoeuvres Rose close enough to reach it with her mechanised arm. That has an extra camera mounted just above its claw, so that the operator can see what he is grabbing.

Teeth gritted, he cautiously guides the robotic hand towards the pen and gently lifts it. Done it! With the pen dangling precariously from her

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claw, Rose trundles back over to me.

Demonstration successful, but it has taken ten minutes and been spine-chilling to watch.

ROSE 2.0

Rose 2.0 is an updated version of the ‘remote-controlled robot for home-care applications’ ROSE, originally developed at Eindhoven University of Technology. A year ago TU Delft graduate Cees Heemskerk, Managing Director of Heemskerk Innovative Technologies (HIT), took over the robot, the associated research and some of the development staff from Eindhoven. His aim is to build bridges between science and industry and to make the complex technology work.

With that same goal in mind, Delft MSc and PhD students are working on improvements to Rose in a rented space on Mijnbouwstraat. Changes from the previous version include a smaller trolley and base unit – users found the old one too big – and a larger, more powerful arm. Thanks to a builtin hoist, that can now reach down to the ground. This is also the product of user feedback.

The project’s link with clinical practice is social gerontologist and nurse Erica van de Veerdonk, who has more than thirty years’ experience in care for the elderly and is now working on

Demonstration successful, but it has taken ten minutes and been spine-chilling to watch a PhD in robotics in the care sector at Tilburg University. She co-ordinates the practical trials with both senior citizens and younger people with physical disabilities.

Van de Veerdonk is well aware that people prefer to remain independent for as long as possible, and in so doing would rather rely upon a robot than another person. Her trials have gene-

rated a list of functions requested by users in her two groups. This is now guiding the further development of Rose 2.0.

“A home help visits for just forty minutes a week,” she says. “That’s often not enough time to take the laundry out of the machine. If nobody else comes, it’s still there a week later.” So emptying the washing machine is one item on the list. At the moment, however, the robot is not strong enough for that.

And she cannot reach the back of the drum. Unfolding a duvet is difficult, too, and pouring a hot drink and then carrying it around is still too risky with her current, rather fragile arm.

DO IT YOURSELF

Unpacking shopping takes a home help a minute or two. Under remote control, the robot needs twenty minutes for the same task. Is that not a problem? Not according to Van de Veerdonk. “It’s relaxing to watch,” she jokes. What’s more important is that it allows users to do the task themselves, rather than relying upon someone else.

“It [the robot] feels like an extension of yourself,” said one participant in a practical test.

As well as material advantages – a robot is cheaper than a human helper, and sometimes even faster – there are also more intangible benefits. Rose encourages independence, movement and social contact, and provides a sense of security. And it is these aspects users seem to appreciate most.

The aim now is to put a commercial version of Rose on the market within seven years, at €7000 per unit. Start saving, baby boomers. <<

Robots about the house Paro is a cuddly therapeutic robot developed by Takanori Shibata and based upon a baby seal. On the market since 2004, the device has virtually no practical functions. But it is irresistibly cute.

GiraffPlus is an “iPad on wheels”, which interacts with a whole network of sensors around the house to enable the elderly to live at home for longer. This is a European project, with partners from Sweden and Italy.

Psychologists at VU Amsterdam have developed Alice, a talking robotic doll who – despite not moving herself – provides mental stimulation and encourages physical activity. She also features in the documentary Ik ben Alice, available at npo.nl.

In 2012 TU Delft presented the care robot Eva, the product of a minor in Robotics by a group of six students. Eva could pick up objects – even a cup of coffee – and bring them to you.

In the same year Eindhoven University introduced us to Rose, a remote-controlled robot for the home. Development work ended this summer.

Eindhoven’s Robocup team is now focusing its efforts on Amigo, a two-armed domestic helper.

TEXT TOMAS VAN DIJK

Coming soon to Delft Living in an open-air lab and drinking water from biowaste.

All just around the corner at TU Delft.

ROBOTBOOTJES

According to Rudy Negenborn and Klaas Visser of the Department of Maritime & Transport Technology, self-navigating robotic shipping is the future. To prove it, later this year they plan to launch a fleet of vessels 30-60 centimetres in length on the pond outside 3mE and have them perform a series of complex manoeuvres: sailing in formation under the bridge, overtaking, crossing in front of each other and negotiating tricky port situations. All without colliding. Hopefully.

GREEN ROOMS TO RENT

New student housing is now available in The Green Village. The first occupant of the square wooden studios, located next to the ultra-efficient Prêt-àLoger house, moved in earlier this month. All are equipped with the latest technological innovations, such as DC power sockets and a heat exchanger in the shower drain to recover residual heat.

However, residents have to agree to act as permanent guinea pigs for research into sustainable living.

SCIENCE CENTRE

The interactive Science Centre is opening four new labs this autumn, allowing visitors to conduct their own experiments alongside university scientists.

Facilities include a biofermenter, where you can convert biodegradable waste into drinking water and methane.

Use the vibrating table to test whether your building design will survive an earthquake. Or study the aerodynamics of everyday objects in the miniature wind tunnels. To be a test subject yourself, drop by the Senselab, where researchers from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment are investigating the effects of varying indoor light, noise and ventilation levels.

RUISDAEL OBSERVATORY

CEG is about to launch its new Ruisdael Observatory, named after the seventeenth-century painter Jacob Ruisdael. Despite the name, this is not a building housing telescopes but a network of measuring stations all over the Netherlands. Thanks to them, atmospheric remote sensing specialist Professor Herman Russchenberg hopes to produce far more accurate predictions of the weather.

BIRTHDAY

TU Delft celebrates its 175th birthday on 13 January 2017. The day’s full programme of events has yet to be finalised, but the theme has already been announced: Technology for Life.

NEW INSTITUTE

TU Delft will have another new institute as of 2017.

The focus of the Delft Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (DCSE) is numerical modelling and simulation – a theme intrinsic to all our scientific work, from calculating the aerodynamics of a new aircraft design to modelling the human immune system. DCSE is a joint initiative by six of our faculties: EEMCS, CEG, AS, 3mE, AE and TPM.

MICROSCOPY LAB

Now that the departments of Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering and Bionanoscience have moved to new premises on Kluyverweg, they have made room to set up a high-tech microscopy lab in the old Applied Sciences building on the campus. Called the Van Leeuwenhoek Laboratory for Advanced Imaging Research (VLLAIR), this is headed by Pieter Kruit, Professor of Particle Optics at Applied Sciences.

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NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

Pneumatic stand-up prosthesis

ILLUSTRATION: STEPHAN TIMMERS

PATENT

Inventors: Dr Heike Vallery and Dr Gerwin Smit

S

imple tech” is how 3mE biomechanical engineer Heike Vallery describes the device she has invented with colleague Gerwin Smit: a prosthesis which could make a world of difference for people with artificial knees.

The so-called pneumatic stand-up prosthesis works a bit like an office chair. When you sit down, the air inside is compressed. As you start to stand up, a sensor detects that and releases air to give you an extra upward push. Unlike standard prostheses, then, this one helps you to stand rather than hindering you.

Vallery discovered the problem when talking to orthopaedic technicians. They see a lot of older people who have lost part of a leg to diabetes.

“What those patients need is a light, simple device which makes it easier to move.

According to our market research, this product has great potential.”

Smit travelled to ETH Zürich, where Vallery had previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher. It was there that he came up with the idea of using a pneumatic cylinder. With initial tests producing positive results, the proof of concept is now ready and the inventors are in talks with potential commercial partners. Meanwhile, they have also applied for a grant for further research to refine the device. SB

COLUMN

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Eat your heart out, iPhone7 When my grandmother died, I inherited her piano. I hadn’t played for almost twenty years, but suddenly the big oak instrument appeared in my living room. Even with three young children in the house, it immediately took pride of place.

It wasn’t long before I tried the stool for size. But not before opening the lid to take a peek at the hammers, the strings and the golden logo of the Wilhelm Schimmel Pianofortefabrik Braunschweig, “seit 1885”.

I thought of all the relatives who’d tinkled those ivories. A lot of them dead, many of the rest entering their twilight years. Or heading that way.

The theme of this Delft Outlook is speed. Faster machines, faster chips, faster communications…

Perhaps it’s my time of life, but recently I’ve felt more and more need to slow down. Not long ago, I was in a sauna when I heard someone say, “I really can’t remember the last time I spent this long offline during the day.”

All those devices that put the world at your fingertips, of course they’re a blessing. But also a curse. Bringing us more emails, tweets and WhatsApp messages by the hour, all begging for an answer. Communication begets communication.

That date on my piano: 1885. No-one then had a TV set, a computer, a car.

It would be years before the first powered aircraft flew at Kitty Hawk.

Would someone in their thirties have thought life was passing so swiftly?

That it might be over so soon?

Is it modern technology which makes us feel our clock of life is running fast?

Seated at my piano, I try to think what activities slow down time.

What makes you feel the clock’s your friend, not snapping at your heels?

Sitting in front of an open fire with friends. Playing football. Watching my kids dress up and enter an imaginary world. The hearth, the ball, the old clothes… Eat your heart out, iPhone 7.

Night has fallen and the house is shrouded in silence. All the modern devices are hidden in the darkness.

Fingers on the keys, feet on the pedals. Time for an old song.

‘It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday / The regular crowd shuffles in / There’s an old man sitting next to me / Makin’ love to his tonic and gin / He says, “Son, can you play me a memory / I’m not really sure how it goes / But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete / When I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

Tonie Mudde is science editor of de Volkskrant. He studied Aerospace Engineering at Delft from 1996 to 2003.

NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

HORA EST ‘Despite the emergence of new technological tools, the blackboard remains the ideal way of conveying knowledge to groups of people’ Kim Verbert, systems and control engineer “In order to convey knowledge effectively, good interaction with the recipient is essential. The blackboard is the ideal tool for this. Explaining something on the blackboard calls for subject knowledge and coherence. This makes it an easy and effective way of responding to audience questions. Writing on the blackboard also slows down the speed of presentation, ensuring that the thought processes of transmitter and

recipient are synchronised. Finally, the blackboard’s simplicity is its strength: virtually nothing can go wrong. This ensures that all attention is focused on the actual knowledge transfer. Although technological tools are ideal for illustrating certain things, a good lecturer and the blackboard are still indispensable for real knowledge transfer.”

It’s necessary to first give way, in order to finally win. (Jigoro Kano)

Foto: Marcel Krijger

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Lourdes Maria Silva de Souza, materials engineer

Your geographical constraints largely determine your resistance to failures.

A flood, a wife and a child change status-quo.

Micah Mukungu Mukolwe, civil engineer

Fetemeh Mouyed, chemical engineer

Even when the rules are the same, its interpretation is different everywhere you go.

Miki Trifunović, electrotechnical engineer

As a structural engineer constantly working on the latest technology innovations in the aviation industry, it is of great advantage to be married to an airline pilot.

Vivian Dang, aerospace engineer

Editors in control-related journals should not judje the quality of a paper only by its Judging morality by others using only our own perspective of contribution to mathematics. morality, is inmmoral.

Peng Lu, aerospace engineer

Xiangwei Liu, aerospace engineer

Time cannot be managed, but the order The number 50 is definitely not the answer to the ultimate of mutual trust and respect. question of life, the universe and everything.

Chang Wan, transport engineer

Mark Stoopman, electrotechnical engineer

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THE FIRM

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

TU Delft satellite Delfi-C3 was launched in in 2008 after years of preparatory work by several generations of students. Jeroen Rotteveel was one of them. The creation of his own satellite business, ISIS, was a natural extension of the university project.

It was April 2005 when Jeroen Rotteveel and a group of fellow Space Systems Engineering students were given the opportunity to attend a conference in Denmark. In front of an audience of international businesspeople and researchers, they gave a presentation about “their” Delfi-C3 nanosatellite.

The talk went down well, but it was the drive back to Delft which would prove a catalyst. Chatting in the car, the students formulated an idea for their own satellite business – even though Delfi-C3 itself was still years from launch.

Eleven years later, three of the five founders of that company, Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS), are still at its Delft offices every day. Rotteveel is CEO. He has more than 65 people on the payroll, from 22 different countries. “Our timing was good,” is how explains that success. “The market was developing fast, as was technological entrepreneurship. Because of that, we were indulged a little. We secured a TU Delft loan for high-tech start-ups and it wasn’t long before the orders for our products and services started coming in.”

The original plan was to supply complete satellites, but the founders soon realised that it was better to start with components. With the money that brought in, they invested in their next

Name: Jeroen Rotteveel Degree: Space Systems Engineering (Aerospace Engineering) Company: Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS) Products: Nanosatellites and their components, plus launches and certification.

Mission: “To help take spaceflight from the pioneering phase and turn it into a commercial market through the serial production of small-scale satellite systems.”

Turnover: Approximately €10 million in 2016.

Five years “We’ll still be small and flexible, but from now: better able to involve our suppliers in our work.”

step. They also began providing services: satellite launches, contract research and third-party system tests and approvals. In 2009, ISIS was finally in a position to produce an entire satellite. In the past five years it has delivered five a year.

Most of the launches are in India or the United States. And they’re always nerve-wracking, Rotteveel says – not least because comprehensive insurance cover is too expensive. “You’re always exposed to a financial risk. That’s part of the game. This remains pioneering work.”

Small nanosatellites are unable to do as much in space as those weighing a tonne or more, because they carry less hardware and generate less power. But they are still popular, as they are relatively cheap and easy to integrate with new technologies.

ISIS’ client base ranges from universities and research institutes to governments and commercial businesses.

Space agencies, military intelligence services, real-time video providers and traffic-monitoring firms – they are all on the books. But whilst that they provide him with a good living, Rotteveel says, “This is not a business to make you massively rich. The risks are too great for that.” SB

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NO.3 OCTOBER 2016

No-one is average TEXT TOMAS VAN DIJK PHOTOS MARCEL KRIJGER

T Toilets, prosthetics, helmets, bras…

Ergonomist Dr Johan Molenbroek, alias the toilet professor, has ideas about all of them. On 14 October he retired from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering with a farewell symposium on his work.

he bookcases in Johan Molenbroek’s office are overflowing with volumes on ergonomics and biomechanics. Over four decades, you build up quite a collection. “Students come here to borrow books and ask questions,” he says. “The most recent query was about an operating table. A student had to design one suitable for hip surgery requiring the patient to lie in a strange position, their leg at a weird angle. The student was wondering if that was possible.”

It is the sort of question Molenbroek loves. “How big are people, and how strong? How do they vary in size?

No-one is average. No, I’m going to really miss helping students,” he sighs.

“I enjoy encouraging young people to develop something they didn’t think they were capable of.”

The fact that no-one is average is something the design engineer discovered soon arriving at Delft in 1978, having studied Biomechanics at Twente.

For one of his first major projects, he had to measure the legs of 800 pensioners. On his desk are a yellowing research report and a pile of newspaper clippings. “That job generated a lot of

media interest.” He has to laugh.

Molenbroek went on to develop www. dined.nl, a database for designers revealing the dimensions of the Dutch.

To compile it, he took the measurements of thousands of people. For three decades using traditional tools like the anthropometer and tape measure, but more recently with the full-body 3D scanner in the lab opposite his office.

He has always been an advocate for the elderly. “Even if they’re illiterate and suffering from dementia, nowadays people want to live in their own homes. A nursing home is somewhere you go only as a very last resort. As a result, a lot of older people have accidents at home. The number of road accidents falls year after year, but domestic ones just keep on increasing.”

TOILET RITUALS

“One of the places where elderly people regularly have falls is in the lavatory,” he continues. And so we come to another of his pet subjects.

“Why they fall there is one of those things it’s hard to put your finger on, because people don’t like to talk about their toilet rituals. That makes lavato-

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Full body 3D-scans of Johan Molenbroek.

ries a fascinating topic to work on.”

He was leader of an EU project called the Friendly Rest Room, a toilet designed especially for the elderly.

Thanks to a system of RFID chips, the adjustable pot remembers the position it was set to the last time the user sat

‘Designing for the underdog is in my nature’ on it and returns automatically to the same setting the next time they visit.

Through student graduation projects, Molenbroek has also been involved in numerous other toilet studies, for trains, boats, campers and so on. “In fact, they call me the toilet professor.”

His real passion, though, is helping the vulnerable in society. Take the project

Designed to Fit, for example. Together with PhD student Lyè Goto, he has been measuring children’s heads and faces to develop better paediatric respiration masks.

This social engagement was instilled at an early age. “I grew up on a small mixed farm in the Twente region.

There was no such thing as waste. Our leftovers were fed to the animals. We were three generations in one house: my grandparents, my parents plus a couple of unmarried aunts and uncles, and me with my eight brothers and sisters. Two of my brothers had disabilities.

“I think that upbringing is why I like to make things for the disabled. I’m used to being with them, too. Designing for the underdog is in my nature.”

What annoys Molenbroek is design that excludes. “We have two million semiliterate people in the Netherlands.

So what do we do? We introduce chip cards for public transport. A lot of

people don’t understand the displays on the readers. The old ‘strip’ ticket worked perfectly well. Another example: the packaging of medicine. Plenty of older people can’t open it. Are we antisocial? No, I don’t think it’s that.

It’s just that designers and manufacturers aren’t aware of how people differ.

Everyone always works from averages.” <<

The farewell symposium for Johan Molenbroek, Forty Years of Fitting and Measuring, was held in the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering on Friday 14 October, when he stepped down as associate professor in Applied Ergonomics and Design. The event covered his research, teaching and projects from the late 1970s to the present day. io.tudelft.nl

Alumni Munich Chapter

On 29 September, seven start-ups with international ambitions presented their sales pitches at the Delft to London Startup Event.

The kick-off of the Aerospace Engineering Alumni Chapter will take place on 10 November in Munich.

During this event you have the opportunity to attend an inspiring talk and enjoy a drink with your fellow alumni.

Vice Dean Rinze Benedictus will officially induct the Chapter. All alumni of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering in the Munich region are warmly invited to attend. Doors open at 18.30. Please register here: http://lr.tudelft. nl/MunichEvent

deliberating, the audience of critical TU Delft alumni were able to ask the startups questions themselves.

The winner of the event was IMSystems, who has successfully patented and marketed a new type of transmission

Winner IMsystems has patented a new type of transmission: the Archimedes Drive called the Archimedes Drive.

The runner-up was LaQuest, that develops certified training courses for medical equipment. The third prize went to Mapiq, that develops

PHOTO: ALUMNI RELATIONS

The event was organised by the TU Delft Alumni London Chapter together with YesDelft and the Dutch embassy. Following a welcome by Brechje Schwachöfer on behalf of the Ambassador, the chair of the London Chapter, Hermen Westerbeeke, opened the event.

The event chairman (Kai Balder of Roland Berger) introduced the start-ups, who each presented their elevator pitches. They were then questioned by the members of the jury, Ozohu Adoh (Epara), Jan Paul van Driel (StrategicFit) and Maarten van den Belt (Lendahand, Symfonie Capital, Symbid Corp.). While the jury was

Delft to London Startup Event

The three prize-winning start-ups from left to right: Mapiq (3rd prize), LaQuest (2nd prize) and IMSystems (1st prize).

apps to help people work smarter and makes offices more efficient.

The other startups missed out on a prize but their ideas are definitely worth noting.

Physee has conceived ‘PowerWindows’, energy generating windows for large building projects. Xinaps presented software plug-ins that automatically include local rules and by-laws in the design process for developers and architects. Gerrard Street sells cheap but high quality headphones using an innovative design, sales and distribution concept.

CashRocket has developed a Cash Flow Analytics program that enables real-time tracking of a company’s cash flow.

After the ceremony there was opportunity to network during a drinks reception.

Career development advice Alumni are welcome at the TU Delft Career Centre for personal career development advice up to five years after their graduation. Do you have doubts about your career? Make an appointment with the TU Delft Career Centre by email to careercentre@tudelft.nl. The one-hour consultation can be conducted in either Dutch or English and takes place at the TU Delft Career Centre. If you are abroad for an extended period , a Skype consultation is possible.

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Fred van Keulen receives Best Professor Award

From the

UFD

Fred van Keulen, Professor of Structural Optimisation and Mechanics with 3mE, received the Best Professor Award on Monday, 5 September.

secret to his success? Maybe I can best quote Fred himself: ‘Do what you enjoy doing most because that’s what you will excel in.’”

Professor Fred van Keulen was presented with the Best Professor Award by Rector Magnificus Karel Luyben and the chair of the Delft University Fund, Michael Wisbrun. “A Best Professor Award is every lecturer’s dream,” says Luyben. “Not only must the winner be an excellent teacher, they must also stand out with their research and be able to inspire and be inspired by PhD candidates. Fred is a deserving winner; a great teacher and researcher who builds bridges to the working profession. The

The dean of the 3ME Faculty Prof.

Theun Baller, Gezelschap Leeghwater and various PhD candidates nominated Van Keulen. “He is inspiring, challenging and knows how to get his students thinking,” explains Baller. “He really brought me to a higher level,” a student commends him. “Simply being nominated is possibly even more important to me than receiving the prize,” says Van Keulen. “I feel warm inside just thinking that people did this for me. It’s amazing and worth more than the prize itself.”

Nomination

Alumni Activities 25 October 3TU IDE networking reception during Dutch Design week Eindhoven 3 November UfD Good Friends Dinner 9 November Alumni reception at the Dutch embassy in Nigeria 10 November Kick-off of the Alumni Aerospace Engineering Munich Chapter 11 November IDE Panta Rhei 17 November Best TU Delft Graduate – Senaatszaal Aula, TU Delft

Panta Rhei!

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

To draw attention to the role of designers in a constantly changing world, the IDE faculty has organised a forum on November 11 entitled ‘Panta Rhei! Five Inaugural Addresses by Five Professors’.

Catelijne van Middelkoop, Deborah Nas, Jeroen van Erp, Jos Oberdorf and Roland van der Vorst offer five perspectives on design and design leadership. The forum will be in English. Admission is free. Please register here: ide.tudelft.nl/pantarhei Fred van Keulen: “I want my students to think critically. The risk is that you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of this criticism one day, which is a good thing.”

You too can supp TU Delft talent byort donating to the D University Fundelft universiteits fond ufonds@tudes.lfttudelft.nl .nl

CONTACT INFORMATION Any questions, comments or changes of address? Alumni Relations TU Delft: alumnibureau@tudelft.nl alumni.tudelft.nl

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NR2 JULI 2016

The lab of...

Architecture and the Built Environment

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

Third-year industrial design student Emma van Wensen is taking the House of the Future minor at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, building a scale model of an existing design for the Analysis and Model Studies course. She chose the Van Schijndelhuis, the home of architect Mart van Schijndel, built in Utrecht in 1992.