Today, at the TU Delft Best Graduate Award Ceremony 2019, eight recently graduated engineers presented their research and results of their excellent master thesis. Djonno Bresser, graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG), received the prestigious title TU Delft Best Graduate 2019. The TU Delft Best Graduate Award Ceremony is organized annually by Delft University Fund.
It's a surprise and great honour to receive this award. It feels very special that my theoretical work is greatly appreciated.
―
Djonno Bresser, TU Delft Best Graduate 2019
What makes Djonno Bresser TU Delft Best Graduate 2019
Prof.dr. Rob Mudde, Vice Rector Magnificus/Vice President Education, and chair of the Best Graduate Jury:
“Djonno chose a very challenging graduation topic: the modelling of cracks in concrete structures. We know concrete as a strong and durable material, but it has a drawback. Concrete is weak in tensiona, and once damage has set in, it can then crack abruptly. Current models to describe the behaviour of structures do not deal with this very well. That is why Djonno’s supervisors came up with the alternative concept of sublayer modelling, that examines cracks in several parallel sublayers.
Djonno took it upon himself to develop this sublayer model further and eventually proved that the sublayer model leads to more realistic outcomes. Djonno did not stop there. He also performed case studies on full-scale problems such as a masonry facade and a concrete dam. In fact, he managed to complete five case studies, and still finish on time with his project. Moreover, he also extended his model from 2D to 3D cases, and explored a number of other possible extensions. Impressive as this is, most of it was also his own original work, brought on by mere suggestions from his supervisors. He is, in short, someone who likes to go the extra mile.”
Evelyne Esveld, Executive Director Delft University Fund, continues that the jury is impressed by the way in which Djonno fused the fundamental and theoretical side of his research with the model development and the case studies to come up with something highly applicable. Djonno’s work can for example be applied for studies into the damage and state of houses in Groningen, that have been subjected to induced seismicity – tremors and minor earthquakes that are a result of human activity.
The jury furthermore concluded that Djonno is an excellent researcher and a very good writer. Djonno received a grade 9.5 for his master thesis, graduated cum laude with a 9.0 average for his course grades, achieved 138 ECTS instead of the regular 120 ECTS, completed his master thesis within six months and graduated at the tender age of only 22.
Djonno is the personification of a highly talented, ambitious and hard-working student
Evelyne Esveld, Executive Director Delft University Fund: "Delft University Fund is proud to celebrate these extraordinary TU Delft talents. These engineers have pushed their limits in the final phase of their study. Their personal efforts, dedication and inventiveness have resulted in eight exceptionally excellent theses. And with this exceptional achievement comes the prestigious Best Graduate Award."
The Best Graduate Award
All eight Best Graduates receive the Best Graduate Medal and Certificate of Excellence in recognition of their graduation work, personal dedication, study results and the way in which they achieved these. In addition, they receive a personal prize of 1,000 euro. Besides the statuette Towards a bright future, Djonno receives an extra personal prize of 2,500 euro, a KIVI membership and a new laptop offered by Dell.
