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Researchers from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom. They caused the atomic nucleus to interact with one of the electrons in the outermost shells of the atom. This electron could be manipulated and read out through the needle of a scanning tunneling microscope. The research, published in Nature Communications today, offers prospects for storing quantum information inside the nucleus, where it is safe from external disturbances.

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease are incurable. These diseases are progressive brain disorders with severe effects on movement and mental functioning. How damage in the brain develops is far from understood however. Biophysicist Kristin Grußmayer has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant that enables her to search for causes by looking into brain cells and individual molecules.

Studying how single DNA molecules behave helps us to better understand genetic disorders and design better drugs. Until now however, examining DNA molecules one-by-one was a slow process. Biophysicists from Delft University of Technology and Leiden University developed a technique that speeds up screening of individual DNA molecules at least a thousand times.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded thirteen young TU Delft researchers from the Science (ENW) and Applied and Engineering Sciences (TTW) domains, a Veni grant of up to 320,000 euro.

More advanced and faster research is possible with the commissioning of the cold neutron source and the improved instruments of TU Delft Reactor Institute (RID) as of 27 June 2024. The first results of research are expected in October 2024, around the official reopening of the reactor.

On the roof of the Applied Sciences building, a beehive is supporting biodiversity on campus since 6 June. The beehive was installed on the initiative of OnderhoudsCombinatie Delft (OC1) in coordination with René Hoonhout (landscape manager at Campus Real Estate & Facility Management (CREFM)). OnderhoudsCombinatie Delft is a collaboration between Kuijpers, ULC and Hurks who jointly carry out maintenance on the Applied Sciences building.

Miriam Blaauboer has been elected Educator of the Year 2024 of the Faculty of Applied Sciences (AS). She received the award on 17 June 2024 during the faculty's annual Education Day. Here, Director of Education Chris Kleijn also announced the Educators of the Year for each programme. The seven nominated lecturers were chosen by AS students. Miriam will represent the AS faculty at Delft University of Technology's upcoming Educator of the Year election.

A line-up of interesting keynotes and workshops about AI Education captivated the audience on Tuesday June 4th during the fourth yearly Spring Symposium organised by TU Delft AI Initiative. From the fields of law and architecture to physics – a variety of disciplines were discussed, each showing how AI is a game changer for the future of their respective fields and the consequences this has for the education of the future. This underscores the importance of considering AI education across the whole university.

In the back of a cupboard at the Imaging Physics department of the Faculty of Applied Sciences (TNW) at TU Delft, a box full of interesting objects had hiding for almost thirty years. Nestled amongst prisms and scopes, was a mysterious microscope.

Did you know that solar cells typically convert only 20% of the sunlight into electrical power? That means that 80% is not utilised, leaving a large room for improvement for next generation solar cells. Researchers from Delft University of Technology developed a method to find new materials for more efficient solar cells.