11 6 February 2014 | year 56
Biweekly magazine of the Eindhoven University of Technology For the latest news: www.cursor.tue.nl/en and follow @TUeCursor_news on
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Physics in Gemini
Pretty TU/e gals and guys
Tuesday 4 February - On Thursday February 6th, the Department of Applied Physics (TN) will be opening a new laboratory in Gemini-Noord, home to Mechanical Engineering. The Darcy Lab houses advanced X-ray and MRI devices of TN group Transport in Permeable Media. The group will be working with Energy Technology of Mechanical Engineering in an attempt to store heat in salt crystals. The Darcy Lab was names after French engineer henry Darcy (1803-1858). Those who wish to attend the opening can check in at the Gemini at 3.50PM.
Monday 3 February 2014 – “It goes against the ugly nerd image.” That’s how the founders of Facebook page ‘Parels van TUEindhoven’ (Gems of TUEindhoven) describe their initiative. The website presents TU/e babes and hunks. The founders prefer to remain anonymous, but they claim to be ‘a large team of men and women’ from the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences. The idea of the Facebook page is that TU/e people send in a pretty picture of themselves or someone else. Although it’s mostly photos of students right now, PhD students and faculty are most welcome, too.
New microsu times as pre rgery robot is five cise as a hum Monday 3 Febr uary - Mechani an hand cal engineer Ra has developed imondo Cau a new robot
specially for m It enables surg icrosurgery. eons to operat e shaking-free greater precis with five times ion than by ha nd. Carrying ou operations plac t highly precis es such high de e mands on surg few are able to eons that do it successful ly. The robot w more surgeons ill enable to carry out hi ghly precise m sow waiting tim icrosurgery, es will be shor tened. It also physical burden reduces the on the surgeo n and will mak more precise op e new and erations possib le. Cau’s protot now be furthe ype will r developed to gether with th Hospital Maast e Academic richt, and the results of the tests are expe first clinical cted within th e next year. Als o see page 25 .
New production method for paper proves breakthrough Thursday 23 January - The production of paper will become much cheaper and significantly more eco-friendly. These high expectations were expressed by major paper-industry companies, after having seen an invention from prof.dr.ir. Maaike Kroon, professor of Separations Technology at the Department of Chemical Engineering & Chemistry. Kroon discovered how wood can be ‘dissected’ more energy-efficiently and eco-friendlier in the future, to extract cellulose, for example: the raw material for paper. The idea is that TU/e and fourteen European companies will set up a consortium, and build a test facility to extract cellulose according to Kroon’s method.
More news on www.cursor.tue.nl/en
Clmn
New signage on campus getting closer Friday 31 January - Within several weeks, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers should be able to find their way around campus with ease. New signs will provide directions to buildings, and there will be signs at buildings as well. Cubes at the periphery of the terrain have to guide pedestrians and cyclists to campus. Buildings will all be fitted with a clearly visible number, which should be successive, meaning building, 1, 2, and 3 are close to each other. Parties involved will advise on the signage, and final decisions on the design will probably be made in February. The signs in the buildings themselves will not change much for now.
Emiel Hensen receives Vivi grant for carrier material catalysis Monday 27 January - Prof.dr.ir. Emiel Hensen is to receive a 1.5-million-euro Vici Grant from research financer NWO. Hensen is Professor of Molecular Catalysis at the Department of Chemical Engineering, and will be researching reactions occurring on the interface between catalyst nanoparticles and the carrier material they’re attached to. He’ll be focusing on a number of uses, including separating water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight. This process is one of the primary candidates for becoming the world’s numberone sustainable source of energy. The Vici grant is the largest grant awarded by the NWO Innovation Research Incentives Scheme. It’s meant for excellent and authoritative researchers.
Elles Raaijmakers
Elles Raaijm akers, Electrical Elles alway Engineering studen t. s tries to se e the fu of things an d reproduc nny side es this in cartoons and comic s.