News in Brief

Patijn was the victim of blood poising (sepsis): the anesthetic he was given was contaminated with the bacteria klebsiella pneumoniae. The hospital’s external investigation unit is still unable to determine how the bacteria found its way into the anesthetic. There is no word yet of when Patijn will be released from hospital.  

,Overflow

The lecture halls at the IDE, CEG and 3mE faculties are overflowing, according to student political party Oras. There are occasions when there are 90 students in a lecture hall that was intended to seat 60 students. This adversely affects the quality of education, Oras believes. Oras said the TPM faculty is expected to face the same problem next semester. Oras indicated that it knows exactly which programs are oversubscribed and will inform the university. 

,EU grant

Professor Mike Jetten, extra-ordinary professor at TU Delft’s department of Biotechnology, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euro for his proposal ‘Anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria: unique prokaryotes with exceptional properties’. The ERC Advanced Grant is a subsidy from the ERC for experienced scientists who carry out innovative, pioneering research.

,Gas prizes

At the annual meeting of the Netherlands Gas Industry, two TU Delft students were awarded prizes for their excellent graduation theses. The TU Delft winners were Johan van den Bergh (Faculty of Applied Sciences) and Arnoud de Wit (Civil Engineering & Geosciences). Van den Bergh won first prize (worth 6,000 euro) for his research of separating gas mixtures. De Wit won a share of third prize (2,000 euro) for his research of offshore gas terminals.

,Unsustainable cost

The Dutch government’s ambitious environmental objectives for the electricity sector are only possible at a high price, according to research conducted by Hans Rodel, who received his PhD from TU Delft on 9 October. He recommends a combination of different modern generation technologies, CO2 capture and storage, the use of biomass and the recycling of waste heat. The Dutch government wants to achieve a general CO2 reduction of 30 percent and to increase the proportion of sustainable energy sources within the total energy supply to 20 percent by 2020. But Rodel says this can only be achieved at a very high price in the electricity sector. Scenarios involving a low environmental burden lead to high costs and vice versa. Rodel: “One of the conclusions is that electricity from sustainable sources will for the foreseeable future remain more expensive than electricity generated from conventional sources.”

,Go-ahead

During a meeting in Rotterdam representatives of leading chemical companies from Germany, France and the Netherlands have given the go-ahead to the establishment of the European Process Intensification Center (EUROPIC). The Center, with headquarters at TU Delft and two regional offices in Dortmund and Toulouse, is intended as an industry-driven platform for knowledge and technology transfer in the field of Process Intensification.

,Popular

TU Delft has 3,260 new students this academic year, which is an 8 percent increase over last year. The growth is primarily among BSc students. Noteworthy is the fact that the hard sciences have increased enrollments. Computer science rose by 43 percent over last year, and civil engineering by 28 percent. The biggest loser however is also in the same area: applied mathematics shrunk by 38 percent.

,Feedback

If you’d like to comment on anything appearing on the English Page or on a university-related matter, or if you have a question or suggestion for us, send your emails to d.mcmullin@tudelft.nl. We welcome all feedback from our readers. Letters intended for publication should include your name and be no longer than 350 words. This edition of Delta is also available online at www.delta.tudelft.nl, where you can also access the English Page archive.

Blood poisoning

Architecture faculty dean Wytze Patijn is still recovering in the Haven Hospital in Rotterdam. Patijn, who fell seriously ill after minor surgery last month, is still in intensive care, but his condition is now stable. Patijn was the victim of blood poising (sepsis): the anesthetic he was given was contaminated with the bacteria klebsiella pneumoniae. The hospital’s external investigation unit is still unable to determine how the bacteria found its way into the anesthetic. There is no word yet of when Patijn will be released from hospital.  

Overflow

The lecture halls at the IDE, CEG and 3mE faculties are overflowing, according to student political party Oras. There are occasions when there are 90 students in a lecture hall that was intended to seat 60 students. This adversely affects the quality of education, Oras believes. Oras said the TPM faculty is expected to face the same problem next semester. Oras indicated that it knows exactly which programs are oversubscribed and will inform the university. 

EU grant

Professor Mike Jetten, extra-ordinary professor at TU Delft’s department of Biotechnology, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euro for his proposal ‘Anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria: unique prokaryotes with exceptional properties’. The ERC Advanced Grant is a subsidy from the ERC for experienced scientists who carry out innovative, pioneering research.

Gas prizes

At the annual meeting of the Netherlands Gas Industry, two TU Delft students were awarded prizes for their excellent graduation theses. The TU Delft winners were Johan van den Bergh (Faculty of Applied Sciences) and Arnoud de Wit (Civil Engineering & Geosciences). Van den Bergh won first prize (worth 6,000 euro) for his research of separating gas mixtures. De Wit won a share of third prize (2,000 euro) for his research of offshore gas terminals.

Unsustainable cost

The Dutch government’s ambitious environmental objectives for the electricity sector are only possible at a high price, according to research conducted by Hans Rodel, who received his PhD from TU Delft on 9 October. He recommends a combination of different modern generation technologies, CO2 capture and storage, the use of biomass and the recycling of waste heat. The Dutch government wants to achieve a general CO2 reduction of 30 percent and to increase the proportion of sustainable energy sources within the total energy supply to 20 percent by 2020. But Rodel says this can only be achieved at a very high price in the electricity sector. Scenarios involving a low environmental burden lead to high costs and vice versa. Rodel: “One of the conclusions is that electricity from sustainable sources will for the foreseeable future remain more expensive than electricity generated from conventional sources.”

Go-ahead

During a meeting in Rotterdam representatives of leading chemical companies from Germany, France and the Netherlands have given the go-ahead to the establishment of the European Process Intensification Center (EUROPIC). The Center, with headquarters at TU Delft and two regional offices in Dortmund and Toulouse, is intended as an industry-driven platform for knowledge and technology transfer in the field of Process Intensification.

Popular

TU Delft has 3,260 new students this academic year, which is an 8 percent increase over last year. The growth is primarily among BSc students. Noteworthy is the fact that the hard sciences have increased enrollments. Computer science rose by 43 percent over last year, and civil engineering by 28 percent. The biggest loser however is also in the same area: applied mathematics shrunk by 38 percent.

Feedback

If you’d like to comment on anything appearing on the English Page or on a university-related matter, or if you have a question or suggestion for us, send your emails to d.mcmullin@tudelft.nl. We welcome all feedback from our readers. Letters intended for publication should include your name and be no longer than 350 words. This edition of Delta is also available online at www.delta.tudelft.nl, where you can also access the English Page archive.