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People | 25

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And how are things in San Francisco?

More and more TU/e students go abroad for their studies to follow courses, internships or a doctorate path.

What is it like to find your way in a new country? Students tell their stories.

When you think of summer in California, you probably think sun, sea and surfing. So did I, until I spent July and August in San Francisco. The cool wind and heavy fog have led to phrases like “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”. This doesn’t make it less great though; the city is fantastic with its many hills, Victorian buildings, big parks and lovely people.

San Francisco is also known as the gay and hippie capital of the US. During my first weekend here, the big Love Pride took place. More than a million people assembled in downtown San Francisco to support and cheer for equal rights and love for everyone. I don’t think I could have wished for a more appropriate first weekend!

This summer, I’m in San Francisco for three months doing my internship. I don’t think TU/e and UCSF maintain a solid partnership, but since the university is known for its high-quality clinic and research facilities, it’s an attractive destination for a Medical Engineering grad student. I work in a very nice lab on the brand new Mission Bay Campus, where I try to make stem cells from human endothelial cells. We want to determine the cell’s ‘identity’ during reprogramming - to see if other cells originate that are partial stem cells. It’s very interesting, and very different from the applied sciences at TU/e.

Outside the lab I do fun things with other international students, whom I met through the International Students and Scholars Office. We went out of town for a weekend to go rafting, see the Californian capital Sacramento, and taste wines in Sonoma, for example. All in all San Francisco is an amazing destination that I can recommend to anyone!

Ell studeenn Schmitz, Enginte Medical ering Would you also like to write an article about your time abroad? Please send an email to cursor@tue.nl.

Read more stories online: www.cursor.tue.nl/en

Life after TU/e Name: Bobby Johny Varocky Place of Birth: Kerala, India Date of Birth: 23 May 1987 Studied at TU/e from August 2009 - October 2011 Master of Science in Automotive Technology Current position: sales support specialist at The Mathworks BV in Eindhov en Why did you choose to study at TU/e at the time?

There were several reasons. The Automotive program is a multidisciplinar y one, the Brainport Region is home to many high-tech industries, and German y -the home of Automotive- is next door. The Dutch are friendly enough, and they’re used to speaking English. On top of that, studying in the Netherlands is cheaper than in the US. What happened after you graduated from TU/e?

I was very fortunate to get a job upon graduating. I was employed by TNO under their Talent Development Program, where I worked as a development enginee r for eighteen months. After that I switched from TNO, a technology and research driven company, to MathWorks. MathWorks is a world player in computational math and simulations software technology. I’m glad I was able to change from a technical area to sales, because my new position suits me. Where I’ll go from here? Only time will tell.

But I know I’m headed in the right direction.

How did you find a job?

It wasn’t too difficult finding a job, but I do know friends who’ve struggle d. One thing that helped me is my extensive network. I attended many social gatherin gs where I met lots of people, and through these people I knew what was going on in the job market. It has definitely helped me to make the right move at the right time.

What happens to international students after they graduate from TU/e? Do they go job hunting in the Netherlands, pack their bags and explore the world, or return to their home countries? International TU/e graduates talk about their lives after TU/e.

Do you have any advice for others looking for a job?

I recommend expanding your network to the best of your abilities. Today, maintaining a current LinkedIn profile is quite important. Many employers check social networking profiles for additional information about potential employee. If you’re patient, and if you can make do for some time, opportunities will come along. I guess anyone will have a number of jobs before they have a fair idea of what they’re looking for in a career.

An academic education gives you the power to move ahead, but the directio n is up to you. Don’t be afraid to take an exit, make a U-turn, stop and think, or just drive straight ahead. Just go for it - you’ll learn.

26 | Research

5 september 2013

Technological haute couture A dress that charges your mobile phone while you are enjoying a festival in the sun, and shoes rolling out of a 3D printer. Fashion designer Pauline van Dongen combines high-tech materials and state-of-the-art technologies with craftsmanship and manual work.

Through her designs she wants to give us a glimpse of the future in which clothes are at once fashionable and innovative as well as valuable. This month she is beginning her PhD track at Industrial Design to make that dream come true.

She gained international recognition through her design of the first shoe emerging from a 3D printer, which she made together with the company Freedom of Creation. Her clothes were on show in cities like Istanbul, Milan and London. In Vienna last year she and an electrical engineer and robot hacker manufactured a dress within one month fitted with six hundred flip-dots responding to music. Within the Wearable Senses theme this spring she worked together with TU/e doctoral candidate Martijn ten Bhömer on clothes for geriatric patients.

“I like working in a multidisciplinary setting, together with companies and technicians”, Van Dongen explains in her spacious workshop in Arnhem. “In my PhD I want to expand that cooperation and broaden and deepen my research so that it does not stop at prototypes alone, but really results in a properly functioning and pretty piece of clothing which may be sold.

The fact that I have an enterprise of my own is quite useful.”

“When designing clothes, I proceed like a scientist” Van Dongen works within the new Crafting Wearables theme, led by Dr. Oscar Tomico. Although she is the first fashion designer to be granted a PhD position, she is not afraid of the research community.

“I always try to give my work a theoretical underpinning, so when designing clothes I proceed like a scientist. I’m curious, progressive

and I want to find out about many things. My designs explore the space between the body and the garment as well as the relationship between the body and the environment. While clothes protect our body and give shape to our identity, they can have far more functions in the future. They can give you information about the environment and allow you to experience it in a totally novel way.”

People are getting more and more gadgets, and technology can go to great lengths and still be acceptable.

Wearing technical fireworks on your body is something completely different, as Van Dongen knows very well. “Still, interest is a first step. The fact that twenty percent of Americans would now buy a Google Glass if it were available is quite telling.” If the devices are functional, the chance that they may actually be worn is even greater. Her Wearable Solar dress, which contains solar cells enabling the user for instance to charge a mobile phone, is an example in kind. The cells are flexible and can hence be smoothly integrated into the dress.

“This makes it quite wearable, unlike the hard solar cells on soldiers’ battledress, for instance.

In fact, though, I would like to take it a step further, by weaving the solar cell fibers through the fabric”, says Van Dongen ambitiously. “We always want to be connected. If I could develop a durable fabric that could charge itself by means of the sun, that would really be far out.”

Van Dongen notices that whilst fashion is about innovation, the industry itself is very conservative.

“It is a cumbersome system and businesses are not prepared to invest a lot of money and time in changes. Fortunately society is The flip-dot dress reacts to music.

Research | 27

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The solar coat.

also exercising pressure to achieve innovation. Even now so much more is possible than we see. For one, 3D printing and 3D scanning allow us to make a perfectly fitting suit that will last us a long time, when a simple H&M T-shirt is discarded after having been worn just a few times. In the end I hope that we will only make clothes that are needed, so that we can prevent tossing loads of clothes away. The system of two new collections per year has been superseded, as clothes will have to last longer.”

“I want to make wearable clothes, to which technology adds something”

She is modest about her own role.

“I don’t have the illusion that I can change the whole industry all by myself, but I do hope that I can surprise people with my work, make them think about things. Lots of people may consider nature and technology to be two different worlds, yet we cannot live without technology - it is the origin of our existence. I think that any fear of technology will disappear as soon as you are aware of that. At the end of the day I want to make wearable clothes, to which technology adds something. I don’t want to add something simply because I can, but because it enhances my designs.”

Which is why in the coming years she will try to develop all kinds of applications, from biotechnology to haptic techniques. Think of a dress

that is formed gradually through the action of modified bacteria, self-cleaning shirts or a sweater whose fibers will stand further apart as the temperature rises. Trousers that will repair themselves when torn and change color if you feel in

The first shoe emerging from a 3D printer.

a different mood. “You need to keep looking into the future first and foremost”, she says with a smile.

Interview | Anne van Kessel Portrait photo | Jan Willem Kaldenbach

More information about Crafting Wearables http://www.clicknl.nl/ nextfashion/2013/04/23/ crafting-wearables/

• Fashion designer Pauline van Dongen will be working for a doctorate at the TU/e Department of Industrial Design.

• Goal: give us a glimpse of the future, in which clothes are fashionable, innovative and valuable.

28 | Research

5 september 2013

4 burning questions

Paul Janssen | Applied Physics

Magnetic fields and semiconducting plastics

1 ’s on f your o r e ov the c rtation? disse What

2 Wh a peo t do y ou t ple a t par ell whe n t abo ut y they a ies our s rese k arch ?

3 What person, technology, or device has been essential for your research?

4

does w o H efit n e b ty socie our work? y from

(edited by Tom Jeltes)

1 | cover The cover of my dissertation is an artistic interpretation of the model system I used for my doctoral research. It’s a mix of two organic semiconductors that can separate into phases under the right circum­ stances. The one phase displays a number of the spin-dependent reactions of the charge carriers.

Zooming in on the other phase reveals a jumble of concepts mentioned in my thesis.

2 | parties It wasn’t too long ago that scientists proved that electricity running through organic semiconductors – or, disrespectfully, plastics – has a surprising magnetic effect. There’s been a heated discussion that has resulted in the publication of several models over the past years, all of which try to explain the effect. We’ve figured out which of the proposed models is dominant and prove it’s partly because of the organic material, and the exact working conditions.

3 | essential My colleagues have been essential. Not just those of my own group, but definitely also doctoral candidates and professors from other groups I worked with closely.

4 | society benefit My research provides much insight into the workings of spin physics in organic semiconducting devices, which may eventually lead to the development of more efficient organic LEDs and solar cells.

We also show how magnetic effects can be controlled, which could forward the production of low-cost plastic magnetic field sensors.

Research | 29

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Mian Dai | Chemical Engineering

Creating smart textiles 1 | cover The cover shows a fiber with a periodic surface structure. It exhibits colors, even though no dye or pigment is used.

2 | parties The first part of my research consisted of making structures on a fiber surface in a way that the fibers show different colors, based on diffraction of light. The second part was to make the fibers change shapes in response to environmental conditions like temperature or humidity.

3 | essential To produce these smart fibers, I used photo embossing (a relatively new technique using ultraviolet light to create relief structures in thin films deposited on fibers, for example, ed.).

I couldn’t have done that without a pulsed laser set-up, which created holographic patterns in a way that’s compatible with the existing high-speed spinning lines in industry.

4 | society benefit Research on smart textiles is driven by a desire to improve people’s lives. The fibers with new optical properties can be used to produce fabrics for fashion design. The environmentally responsive fibers, on the other hand, may be used in breathable fabrics to make clothing more comfortable.

Camille Descour | Chemical Engineering

Chemical necklaces 1 | cover My cover shows an inventory of objects reflecting my life right now. They include routine tools, glassware, and examples of things I collect, wear, listen to or live with… The idea came to me thinking about my PhD. For me it’s been so much more than a chemical adventure; it has been a rollercoaster of human experience, which has brought me where I am today.

2 | parties At parties, when people ask me what I do, I usually say that synthesizing polymers is like making necklaces, each pearl being one monomer. Chemists may use a broad selection of beads to build either soft rubbery sequences or hard crystalline ones. Since both components obviously have different useful properties, to get the best of both I try to make necklaces that have both sequences on a single string.

3 | essential The list is long! I definitely need to mention the vital collaborations with excellent technical and analytical experts. They have access to state-of-the-art equipment and know exactly how to use it. On top of that they’re ever-curious and always eager to help.

4 | society benefit I worked on polyolefins, better known as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) or poly­ styrene (PS). You can find them everywhere, because from a set of basic and cheap building blocks, a huge variety of building blocks has been developed. Rarefying oil should definitely be used for the creation of even better plastics that cover a broader range of properties, and can replace existing materials. Improved reusability and recyclability is also important.

30 | Zoom in

5 september 2013

Down under to top Of course Solar Team Eindhoven wants to win the World Solar Challenge that kicks off on 6 October. “But that doesn’t mean the race will have been a failure if we don’t.”

More than anything the team wants to get ‘Stella’ across the finish line in one piece after a three-thousand-kilometer trip.

And that’s not easy at all: in 2011, not even one in five teams finished the race through the Australian outback.

Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) doesn’t lack ambition and drive, that’s for sure. ‘Developing the car of the future’, they set as their ambitious goal at the official start in October 2012.

The initial ideas came to Mechanical Engineering students Lex Hoefsloot and Roy Cobbenhagen in the early spring of 2012. They were finalizing their bachelor’s theses at the time and wanted to create a solar-powered family car that was more practical and more comfortable than the flat ‘wings on wheels’ that had been dominating the World Solar Challenge since the first edition

back in 1987.

It wasn’t until October 2012 that Solar Team Eindhoven officially presented their plans and their team. The core team consists of 22 students from six different departments, all of whom are postponing their studies for one year – supported by a committee grant from TU/e – to create the first-ever solar-powered family car.

Later a selection of Honors Program students was added to the team, as well as a number of undergraduate students who did their graduating project on the car.

Several students of Tilburg

University as well as TU/e research groups are also involved in the STE enterprise.

STE has been divided into smaller teams that each focus on different technical aspects of the car, for example – from students who calculated the ultimate aerodynamic shape of the car or developed an intelligent dashboard, to electricians who made sure each sunbeam is transferred from the solar panels on the roof to the motors as efficiently as possible.

According to team member Jirry Pons, the motto was ‘first time right’. “Only if everything was right we’d start building.” The actual putting together of all parts didn’t happen until only three weeks prior to the unveiling of the car in early July. At the EPE lab (belonging to the Electromechanics and Power Electronics group) in Impuls people were working day and night to finish Stella in time.

While large part of the team racked their brains over the many technical challenges, the organization team worked on such things as planning, sponsoring, and preparing for the trip. By doing so, STE managed to find companies that pledged

money, materials, knowledge, and production facilities. The team also collected money through crowd funding, selling Solar Miles for one hundred euro each.

While the multidisciplinary nature of the project can be challenging in its own right, there have never been any real issues, claim team members André Snoeck and Jirry Pons. “Everybody has been doing a great job helping each other out.

We discuss things and try to figure out how we can solve problems together. And as it turned out, people who don’t know anything about a subject can be the ones to make vital contributions,” says Snoeck.

“We’re anxious to see how Stella responds to cattle grids” Apart from the multidisciplinary cooperation, Snoeck also enjoyed the networking aspect. “You learn how things are done in business.”

The team also learned how to handle the media, which according

to the students boiled down to “using your head. And making agreements on what we’re revealing at what time”.

Today, eighteen months after the first ideas for a solar-powered family car were discussed tentatively, the team is almost ready.

On August 16, most of the students boarded a plane to Australia, followed by the others and Stella itself, which was shipped on a cargo flight - transportation by boat would have cost the team too much time for preparation and testing.

Because time is ticking in Australia as well, especially this close to the start; the team still needs several weeks for testing and optimizing their car. Snoeck: “How will Stella do in these weather conditions and on different roads; will the battery pack last; how will the drivers do?”

The Eindhoven students want to have traveled the entire course one time before October 6, although they’ll be driving it backwards, and in a normal car. “People talk about the cattle grids a lot. Apparently, those grids are very wide, which is a disaster for solar cars. We’re anxious to see how Stella responds to them”, says Pons.

Zoom in | 31

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the Solar Challenge World Solar Challenge

The World Solar Challenge is a biannual race for solar cars for (university) teams from all over the world. The first race was held in 1987; this year Solar Team Eindhoven competes in the twelfth edition. The teams race three thousand kilometers across the Australian desert, starting in Darwin in the north, and finishing in southern Adelaide. Along the way, all teams have to register at seven checkpoints, but other than that, they’re on their own.

Apart from the solar cars, there are escort vehicles for support, buses with other team members, and service trucks carrying spare parts, for example.

Racing is allowed until 5pm every day. After that, the teams have to pitch camps and rest until 8am the next morning.

For the first time, the race has a Cruiser category this year, for which ten teams signed up, including Solar Team Eindhoven. Solar cars of this category are judged not only on their speed, but on the number of passengers, external energy needs, and user-friendliness. There’s one aspect Eindhoven has an advantage over the other teams already: Stella is the only solar car seating four people.

Snoeck and Pons expect Eindhoven’s main competition will be Germany and Australia. The team from Bochum, Germany, already participated in the World Solar Challenge with a roadster (meant for two people).

“So they have some experience”, Snoeck explains. The Australian team Sun Swift was among the best five in the last race. And the Japanese are nothing to sneeze at, either. “They won’t reveal anything about their car until right before the race, not a thing.”

There’s no Dutch competition, because TUs Delft and Twente are competing in the traditional Challenger category. Delft has the most experienced team, considering they won the race for four years straight in the past, and they presented the seventh edition of their ‘Nuna’ this summer.

Snoeck definitely doesn’t have an urge to match Delft’s years of solar success. “We were obviously aware of the media circus surrounding

the Delft solar cars, for example, especially in the beginning. But other than that we’re not thinking about Delft at all, really. They’re colleagues rather than competition.

And if TU/e doubted itself at all in light of Delft’s experience, I think our car has shown there’s no need for that anymore.”

“It’s my dream to see Stellas on the road everywhere ten years from now” The World Solar Challenge hasn’t even started yet, but Snoeck is already “proud of what our team has accomplished. We’ve been working like mad throughout the entire project, all with a common goal”. Still, the student admits he

feels the pressure building, “but it’s not external so much as it is my own anxiousness. We’ve built that car, and now we have to prove it can actually drive three thousand kilometers. Winning is awesome, and that’s what we’ll try to do, but that doesn’t mean the race will have been a failure if we don’t.”

Pons: “I wouldn’t say I feel the pressure, but there’s a drive for sure. You want to do well”. And above all, doing well means: crossing the finish line. Mind you, that’s no mean feat. It was only in 2011 that barely a handful of approximately thirty teams finished the race. “Anything can happen”, Pons says realistically. “But our car is much more solid than the ‘wings on wheels’ we all know. Stella is

much heavier and its shape isn’t as risky when it comes to crosswinds, for example.”

After the World Solar Challenge, Solar Team Eindhoven and Stella will be going on tour, visiting secondary schools and events.

On their way back from Australia, they’ve planned a stopover in Singapore to attend the Energy Week.

STE is supposed to continue after the World Solar Challenge. In September of 2014 a new team should be ready to prepare for the next race in 2015. Current team members will go back to the academic grindstone - Snoeck will embark on a master’s program,

and Pons is ready to graduate.

That doesn’t mean Snoeck won’t stop dreaming about ‘Solar’. “It’s my dream to see Stellas on the road everywhere ten years from now.

Well, they won’t be exact Stella copies, since this is only the first prototype. But I’m sure many of our concepts will be implemented in future cars, mark my words. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing we were part of that.”

www.tue.nl/ste

Text | Monique van de Ven Photos | Bart van Overbeeke

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Wednesday 18 September, 20.

Blauwe Zaal, Auditorium TU/e 00 - 21.30,

The succes of Ryanair

Ryanair Deputy CEO Michael Cawley the success of Ryanair, goes into somexplains e of the controversies and takes questions from the audience.

Order your free tickets here: http://www.kaartjesreserveren.nl/sg/o rder. aspx?project=40