Professor Frits Schoute is changing his life. Tomorrow he%ll quit his TU Delft professorship at the age of 52 and dedicate himself to a new project: developing houseboats that are made for living on the sea.
He also envisions a floating community, a Village-on-Sea, where we can live and work. Madman or visionary?
Forces of nature
Science shouldn%t be conducted by people with grey hair, but by young people, who are much more creative, declares Professor Schoute. This is the main reason why he%s quitting his job at TU Delft, and at Philips, his other employer. Immediately after obtaining his PhD degree in 1977, Schoute began saving money to fund a completely new project, which he planned to begin when he turned fifty years old. noticed that older professors no longer have anything to say,he laments. Students listen to their stories, but do as they please afterwards. I didn%t want to become a bitter old sorehead.
Schoute will reveal his new plans tomorrow, during his farewell speech. According to Schoute, a specialist in multimedia systems, living at sea will be inevitable in future. Coastal areas are overcrowded but, on the sea, there%s plenty of open space in which to live and generate sustainable energy by using wind and waves. The sea is a healthy environment for people and there are great benefits to be gained from controlling the elementary forces of nature.
On his computer screen, Schoute displays a futuristic model of a floating platform with houses and trees. This is only an impression,he says. You%ve got to start somewhere. For more concrete designs of his houseboats made for sea-living, Schoute is looking for specialists who can answer questions like, Is living at sea safe? How do you keep the platform anchored to a specific place? How is salt water turned into drinking water?
I%d like to discuss my ideas with as many people as possible, Schoute says. In five years, the first boat, a kind of laboratory, should be finished. On this boat, we%ll experiment with wind turbines and water filters. Our second boat will be a holiday houseboat, for short stays at sea. In future, however, Schoute plans to build a village on the sea, complete with houses, gardens, schools and shops.
Professor Frits Schoute is changing his life. Tomorrow he%ll quit his TU Delft professorship at the age of 52 and dedicate himself to a new project: developing houseboats that are made for living on the sea. He also envisions a floating community, a Village-on-Sea, where we can live and work. Madman or visionary?
Forces of nature
Science shouldn%t be conducted by people with grey hair, but by young people, who are much more creative, declares Professor Schoute. This is the main reason why he%s quitting his job at TU Delft, and at Philips, his other employer. Immediately after obtaining his PhD degree in 1977, Schoute began saving money to fund a completely new project, which he planned to begin when he turned fifty years old. noticed that older professors no longer have anything to say,he laments. Students listen to their stories, but do as they please afterwards. I didn%t want to become a bitter old sorehead.
Schoute will reveal his new plans tomorrow, during his farewell speech. According to Schoute, a specialist in multimedia systems, living at sea will be inevitable in future. Coastal areas are overcrowded but, on the sea, there%s plenty of open space in which to live and generate sustainable energy by using wind and waves. The sea is a healthy environment for people and there are great benefits to be gained from controlling the elementary forces of nature.
On his computer screen, Schoute displays a futuristic model of a floating platform with houses and trees. This is only an impression,he says. You%ve got to start somewhere. For more concrete designs of his houseboats made for sea-living, Schoute is looking for specialists who can answer questions like, Is living at sea safe? How do you keep the platform anchored to a specific place? How is salt water turned into drinking water?
I%d like to discuss my ideas with as many people as possible, Schoute says. In five years, the first boat, a kind of laboratory, should be finished. On this boat, we%ll experiment with wind turbines and water filters. Our second boat will be a holiday houseboat, for short stays at sea. In future, however, Schoute plans to build a village on the sea, complete with houses, gardens, schools and shops.
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