Archive

Nine young researchers compete for the best climate action & energy paper of 2023

After a record-breaking 57 days, 7 hours and 38 minutes, NASA’s balloon telescope GUSTO completed its flight above Antarctica by landing on the ice by parachute. The mission was designed to last 55 days. GUSTO has observed atomic clouds in our own galaxy and its nearest neighbor with far-infrared cameras, developed by SRON and TU Delft.

Apart from storing heritable information, DNA can fold into a key that unlocks functions in specific proteins. Such DNA keys, called ‘aptamers’, are highly sought-after as new drugs and tools in biological research. Delft researchers developed a technique to find the right DNA key between the countless different aptamers that exist. The European Research Council has now awarded their idea with a Proof-of-Concept grant.

Delft researchers are developing batteries that can charge faster, offer more stable storage and are made from sustainable materials that are widely available. In doing so, they offer a cheaper alternative to lithium-ion batteries that consist of rare materials and have a high CO2 footprint.

Creating a quantum computer powerful enough to tackle problems we cannot solve with current computers remains a big challenge for quantum physicists. A well-functioning quantum simulator – a specific type of quantum computer – could lead to new discoveries about how the world works at the smallest scales. Quantum scientist Natalia Chepiga from Delft University of Technology has developed a guide on how to upgrade these machines so that they can simulate even more complex quantum systems. The study is now published in Physical Review Letters.

In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology, scientists from Delft University of Technology present a new technique to identify proteins. Proteins carry out essential functions in our cells, while playing a crucial role in diseases like cancer and COVID-19 infection. The researchers identify proteins by reading out the fingerprint, and comparing the fingerprint to patterns from a database. Using this new technology, the researchers can identify individual, intact, full-length proteins, preserving all its information. This can shed light on the mechanisms behind many different diseases and allows earlier diagnosis.

2023 marked the 300th anniversary of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's death at the age of 91. This was widely commemorated in Delft and beyond last year. TU Delft also remembered the father of microbiology in many ways, including the podcast “A world full of secrets”. Of course, the story of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek deserves a wide audience. That is why last year the Royal Dutch Society for Microbiology (KNVM) commissioned a mural and a plaque on the site of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's birthplace, now De Oostpoort primary school.

TU Delft and Delft Advanced Biorenewables (DAB) are engaged in a long term development of a low cost and robust integrated bioreactor especially for the production of biofuel precursors as well as chemical and other building blocks that have a common ‘oily’ behaviour of immiscibility with aqueous phases such a fermentation broth. Research of Rita da Costa Basto focused on the important elements of the integrated production process of hydrocarbons by the fermentative route such as coalescence and phase separation. She has defended her PhD thesis on this topic Thursday 11 January 2024 in Delft.

TU Delft leads HEAT4ENERGY, a European consortium, dedicated to develop thermomagnetic devices and novel materials to harvest heat from data centres, food, pulp and paper industries and convert this waste heat to electricity. This project ticks all the boxes: energy transition, decarbonising, low and high power devices for conversion of waste heat to electricity, energy storage, finding alternatives for critical raw materials, developing new materials and most important of all: training of a next generation of European experts.