Archive

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.

Dream Team ‘Space Oasis Delft’ has designed a lunar village for 150+ residents. The dwellings have elements of biomimicry, contain a self-sustaining biosphere and simulate a day-night cycle as well as seasons. Smart design choices safeguard not only the occupants' safety but also their mental well-being.

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.

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.

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.

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

From robots that stock shelves to aid during post-stroke rehabilitation, and from autonomous drones to self-driving cars. All these and more robots can now be found under one roof at TU Delft. On 17 April, the Cognitive Robotics department will open its brand-new lab where not only robots, but also researchers and technicians will come together. This should encourage cross-pollination of knowledge and creative solutions and take research into robotics to the next level.

What is more polluting: travelling by boat or plane?

Jan-Willem van Wingerden was invited to talk about his innovative research on wind farm control.

Een speciale dag voor meisjes zodat zij kunnen ervaren hoe waardevol en leuk technische opleidingen zijn. Op 11 april was het weer tijd voor de jaarlijkse Girls’ Day. Bijna 80 leerlingen uit de eerste, tweede en derde klas van scholen uit Leiden en Schiedam kwamen naar de TU Delft en maakten kennis met techniek bij de faculteiten Mechanical Engineering (ME) en Civiele Techniek en Geowetenschappen (CiTG).

Ron van Ostayen vertelt over verbeterde productie van chips door middel van zwevende wafers

Every time the robotic arm picks up a wafer for placement in the chip machine, very small particles are generated which are harmful for the chip production process. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering from TU Delft is working on new generation wafer handlers that can handle wafers without particle generation.

When working at the nanoscale, even a speck of dust can cause disruptions. That is why you find several clean rooms across the TU Delft Campus. In the clean room of Mechanical Engineering, researchers have the unique possibility to build mechanical structures at nanoscale, from top-down by sculpting materials and bottom-up by additive nanomanufacturing. The resulting devices find applications in a variety of fields, from biology to material science.

Researcher Gerard Verbiest works on new chip technology using sound. Together with researchers at ASML, he investigates, among other things, how to apply sound to look inside a chip.

AI is already oftem used in robotics. Can these robots help with staff shortages?

Arend Schwab (founder of the cycling lab at ME) has been researching the art of cycling for years.

What is the effect of the reproduction of artworks on the original? Liselore Tissen was involved in The Van Doesburg experiment in Museum de Lakenhal.

Autonomy, robotics and remote operation, along with artificial intelligence, will transform all transport sectors. In this article, Rudy Negenborn talks about the development and use of robot ships.

Musculoskeletal models in research are now based on the body of an average male. Scientists from TU Delft, Department of Mechanical Engineering, investigate how accurate these models are for a broad population. The one-size-fits-all approach could hinder proper treatment by doctors and physiotherapists. The researchers are therefore working on personalized musculoskeletal models based on a simple 3D scan.

Musculoskeletal models in research are now based on the body of an average male. Scientists from Mechanical Engineering investigate how accurate these models are for a broad population. The one-size-fits-all approach could hinder proper treatment by doctors and physiotherapists.

Shaking a baby violently can cause head and neck injuries, blindness and in some cases even death. Researchers at TU Delft, faculty of Mechanical Engineering, are using a dummy baby and computer models to map the accelerations that act on the head during shaking.

A consortium of European researchers, led by TU Delft, created a functional team of smart robots designed to clean litter from the seafloor. The SeaClear system has successfully passed its last series of tests in both clear and murky waters.

Tim Horeman talks about the use of sustainable design in healthcare

On 12 February, the Growing with Green Steel programme received official approval for a grant of more than 100 million euros from the National Growth Fund. Around 22 million euros of the total sum is destined for TU Delft. The programme aims to develop scientific knowledge and technology for sustainable steel production.

Steel production accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions. That should and could be more sustainable. That is why 31 parties are joining forces to develop a new set of technologies based on hydrogen, renewable energy and circular iron and steel processing.

A coating that can hide objects in plain sight, or an implant that behaves exactly like bone tissue. These extraordinary objects are already made from ‘metamaterials’. Researchers from TU Delft have now developed an AI tool that not only can discover such extraordinary materials but also makes them fabrication-ready and durable.

Mathias Peirlinck decided to research the heart. To improve treatment options for patients, he wants to understand how the heart works and responds to stimuli.

A coating that can hide objects in plain sight, or an implant that behaves exactly like bone tissue. These extraordinary objects are already made from ‘metamaterials’. Researchers from TU Delft have now developed an AI tool that not only can discover such extraordinary materials but also makes them fabrication-ready and durable.

Hope for people who suffer from migraines: with this model you can predict an attack 24 hours in advance.

Paul Breedveld, professor of Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology developed an ultra-thin, flexible and steerable needle with PhD student Marta Scali and fellow researcher Dimitra Dodou.

Commodifying heat. That is the ultimate goal of TU Delft professor of Heat Transformation Technology Kamel Hooman. In the future, consumers could store heat they do not use and sell it in a market. In this way, total energy loss could be halved. Crucial here is that heat can be efficiently stored and transported. Hooman will explain how he intends to achieve this in his inaugural speech on 7 February.