Archive

The production of ammonia, essential for fertiliser production, is responsible for almost 1.5% of global carbon emissions. This needs to be greener, which is why researchers have been looking for sustainable alternatives for years.

It’s impossible to imagine the Dutch street scene without the cargo bike. It’s ideal for transporting goods and especially popular for shuttling children from A to B. Surprisingly, however, no real research has been done on the comfort of children during cargo bike rides. Mechanical engineering students Jelmer, Renate, Dirk-Jan, Santo and Alexander set out to change this. The final project for their bachelor’s degree is the first step in this unexplored area of research.

The processing and transport of materials can be made much more efficient, says TU Delft professor Dingena Schott in her inaugural address, ‘Advancing Transport and Processing: from Model to Impact’. She will deliver her address on 15 November. Her research focuses on the interaction between machines and materials, with a special emphasis on granular materials.

Scientists at TU Delft have developed a new model that better describes human behaviour when merging into motorway traffic. Current models often assume that drivers are constantly trying to optimise their behaviour to reach their destination as quickly and safely as possible, but this is not always the case, says postdoctoral researcher Olger Siebinga.

A group of TU Delft bachelor students has developed, as part of the students’ minor in Computational Science and Engineering, a new model that accurately predicts the molecular properties of alkanes. This knowledge is crucial for the development of renewable fuels.

NWO has awarded 102 researchers a Vidi grant in total 86,7 million euros. Eight promising TU Delft researchers from the domains Exact and Natural Sciences (ENS), Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and Applied and Technical Sciences (ATS) have been awarded. This Vidi grant up to 850,000 euros will enables the laureates to develop an innovative line of research over the next five years and further expand their own research group.

Shipping without a skipper will be allowed

PostNL has released a stamp sheet on the occasion of international Stamp Day featuring two innovative and sustainable means of transport developed at TU Delft. The stamps feature alongside King Willem-Alexander, the WASP, a wind-assisted cargo ship and the Flying-V, an energy-efficient aircraft design for long distances.

What does a work of art signify when it is no longer in its original form, but instead exists as a perfect 3D replica? Liselore Tissen, a PhD student at TU Delft and Leiden University, investigated how 3D replicas change the way we experience art. On 9 October, she will defend her thesis, which examines the relationship between the original artwork, its reproduction and the viewer.

Scientists at TU Delft and the Max Planck Institute have made a new class of structurally adaptable ‘mechanical’ pores made from DNA that can transport molecules through cell membranes. These innovative nanopores can open and close on demand and, for the first time, adjust their diameter.

It’s surprising, but in the Netherlands – a nation of cyclists – there’s very little data on how cyclists respond to each other in traffic. Yet this data is essential for creating more realistic traffic models, which in turn are key to designing better cycling infrastructure across the Netherlands. Anna Marbus, a master’s student in robotics, wants to change that by causing near collisions with cyclists.

On Friday, 13 September, Professor Matthijs Langelaar will deliver his inaugural speech, Computational Design: Shaping the Future. In his address, Langelaar, who researches algorithms for solving mechanical design problems, emphasizes how advanced design capabilities can significantly contribute to addressing societal challenges.

Cornel Thill from the Department of Marine and Transport Technology (MTT) is this year's best lecturer in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Thill is part of the Ship Design, Production & Operations section and teaches courses such as “Hydrostatics,” “Future Marine Propulsion Systems” and “Advanced Course in Resistance and Propulsion.”

Cosimo Della Santina has received an ERC Starting Grant to advance the intelligence of soft robots. His research will focus on having robots interacting with their environment via multiple complex large-area contacts, similar to how an elephant wraps its trunk around a branch.

TU Delft, University of Amsterdam, TNO and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee are joining forces to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for surveillance robots. The OpenBots consortium, officially launched on 4 September, focuses on creating intelligent systems that can support security staff in their daily tasks.

Can technology reduce stress in the OR?

A race in a canoe made from concrete?! The idea floated Civil Engineering master student Jasmijn van Riggelen’s to the annual Concrete Canoe Race. She saw an opportunity to put her knowledge into practice and decided to take on the challenge with a group of fellow students!

About Olympic sailing: 'much improvement still possible'

Rise of assistance robots at KLM and in healthcare: 'In five years, this will be very normal'

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.

'Scientifically there is still much to be researched around rowing'

A robot that cleans cowsheds. 95 Master Robotics students have been working on this project for the past few weeks. On 13 June, they presented their robots to lecturers and client Lely, manufacturer of automated systems for dairy farmers. The students developed the control software for the robot. It had to avoid cows and other obstacles and navigate itself to places where there is manure.

Some 570 first-year mechanical engineering students used their crate stacker to stack almost 2,000 crates during the design competition on 12 June. The eight best stackers went through to the final, where they had to stack up to 25 crates. The competition is the culmination of the third design course of the programme and challenges students to apply all the knowledge they have gained over the past year.

Innovations from TU Delft help the Netherlands win gold medals at Olympics

For his research with high societal impact, David Abbink receives the most prestigious Dutch prizes in science.

David Abbink ontvangt dit jaar de NWO Stevinpremie. De Stevinpremie en de Spinozapremie zijn de hoogste Nederlandse onderscheidingen in de wetenschap. Ze worden jaarlijks uitgereikt aan vier mensen in totaal ‘voor hun uitmuntende, baanbrekende en inspirerende werk’, aldus NWO, die dit nieuws vandaag bekend maakt. Abbink ontvangt 1,5 miljoen euro te besteden aan wetenschappelijk onderzoek en kennisbenutting. Hij ontvangt de Stevinpremie met name voor de maatschappelijke impact van zijn onderzoek.

Around 55 first-year students in the Maritime Engineering bachelor programme introduced their parents and other interested parties to the department and its programme during Design Day. After an opening session where the parents accompanied by students were briefed on the theory, they were soon able to roll up their sleeves and get to work. They even had the opportunity to build their own floating structure!

Reproducing a 3,000-year-old sword for your graduation project. Materials Science & Engineering student Dorien Westert is combining archaeology and materials science by studying the microstructure of iron swords. In the process, she may learn more about how people lived in the early Iron Age.

Will robots in the future know if a human has seen them and let them know this as well? If it’s up to TU Delft professor Joost de Winter, the answer is yes. He is working on contactless interaction between humans and machines. The ultimate goal is to merge human and robotic information processing. In his inaugural address on 7 June, De Winter will take you through the various aspects of his research but also shed light on the growing role of AI in science and education.

The first year of the Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering includes three design subjects in which the students work independently. Almost 800 students need parts, tools and guidance. Project teachers are indispensable in this regard. They help the students to put their own ideas into practice.

In a new season of the TV program Het geheim van de Meester, Joris Dik analyzes which materials were used for world-famous paintings.

Researchers from TU Delft and Brown University have engineered string-like resonators capable of vibrating longer at ambient temperature than any previously known solid-state object — approaching what is currently only achievable near absolute zero temperatures. Their study, published in Nature Communications, pushes the edge of nanotechnology and machine learning to make some of the world’s most sensitive mechanical sensors.

Jan-Henk Welink explains why better recycling is needed for the materials that are used for electronics.

In this video, Eline van der Kruk shows how your body changes throughout the years!

Master's student Wessel Bruinsma investigates how offshore power cables can be dug up and recycled when offshore wind farms 'run out' after 20 years.

Professor in the Department of Biomechanical Engineering, DirkJan Veeger, was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau on 26 April. He receives this distinction for his exceptional achievements and contributions within science and society.

Taking the ski lift to work. That's not something many people can say. For postdoc and TU Delft alumnus Koen Muller, this has been a reality for almost 1 year. Next to a ski slope near Davos, he is building a unique measurement setup with which he wants to collect data on snowstorms to gain more insight into the interaction of snowflake aggregation and atmospheric turbulence.

This year’s ‘Meet the Professor’ event took place on 17 April. TU Delft uses the ‘Meet the Professor’ event to celebrate the city’s birthday together with primary schools. During this event, TU Delft professors give a guest lecture about their research at Delft primary schools. Professors Maarten van der Elst and Paul Breedveld represented the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 2024.