Short news
Alumni Jeroen Wink and Tobias Knap (Aerospace Engineering) developed the Mk-II Aurora prototype spaceplane through their Dawn Aerospace company. On 12 November, the plane broke the sound barrier over New Zealand. This milestone marks a significant step towards creating a spaceplane that can carry satellites to the edge of space, allowing them to reach their orbit independently, after which the plane returns to Earth.
In 2015, Wink and Knap played a leading role in TU Delft’s DARE rocket-building team with their Stratos II rocket, which was launched from Spain. Twenty minutes later, the rocket splashed down in the ocean. This experience sparked an idea. “We thought rockets should be reusable. Someone with more expertise in aviation brainstormed with us and suggested how it might be done differently,” the engineers told NOS (in Dutch).
On the 12 November flight, the five-metre-long prototype reached a maximum altitude of 25 kilometres. The goal is to achieve 100 kilometres next year, the formal boundary of space. Eventually, a larger craft – 15 metres long and five metres wide – will be able to carry satellites into orbit.
What’s remarkable is that Dawn Aerospace, with offices in Delft and Christchurch, New Zealand, funds its spaceplane development programme through revenues from satellite propulsion systems.
Vlucht 53 with maximum speed of 0,9 Mach and 15 kilometres altitude. (Video: Dawn Aerospace)
Two Members of Parliament from the Nieuw Sociaal Contract (NSC) party are stepping down: Rosanne Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk. Interim parliamentary leader Nicolien van Vroonhoven announced their departure following the party’s weekly meeting. The resigning MPs will return their seats to the faction.
Their resignation follows last Friday’s cabinet crisis, when NSC State Secretary Nora Achahbar stepped down, citing “polarising behavior” within the cabinet. Media reports highlighted allegations of racist remarks in the Council of Ministers.
No Holding Back
TU Delft alumna Rosanne Hertzberger was responsible for higher education and scientific research within the party. She had supported measures such as the long-term study penalty, cuts to scientific research funding, and restrictions on the number of international students.
However, Hertzberger stated she can no longer support this government “as an MP and as a person.” She expressed concerns about the lack of restraint among various parties in the government. “Completely inappropriate remarks are being made, both publicly and behind the scenes,” she said.
Recently, Hertzberger visited the TU Delft campus to discuss topics such as social safety, freedom of press, and the implications of the Balanced Internationalization Act. During her visit, she met with representatives of the action group Students and Staff for Safety, Delta editor-in-chief Saskia Bonger, and Works Council Chair Ronald Kuil.
Trial Balloons
Mathematician Femke Zeedijk, who previously worked at chip machine manufacturer ASML, oversaw the National Growth Fund portfolio. “Over the past months, I have also been troubled by the lack of proper conduct, polarising media statements, and half-baked trial balloons”, she explained her decision to step down.
Commenting on the State Secretary’s resignation, Zeedijk said, “For me, discrimination now has a face, and it is the face of our own Nora. This is where I draw the line. I no longer wish to contribute to this. This is not who I am.” (HOP, BB)
Microbiologist Elisabeth Bik will receive 200,000 euros in recognition of her fight against scientific misconduct. According to the German Einstein Foundation, her work has helped to raise awareness of research fraud.
After completing her PhD in Utrecht, Elisabeth Bik worked at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) for a number of years, before moving to California to continue her research at Stanford University. Since 2019, she has focused entirely on detecting fraud in scientific publications.
Bik is especially skilled at spotting image manipulation, and has uncovered numerous instances of scientists trying to punch up their results. According to the Einstein Foundation, she has identified errors in 7,600 publications, of which 1,100 were subsequently retracted.
Trump
During the coronavirus pandemic, Bik gained notoriety for her criticism of a French study on the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19. Then (and future) President Donald Trump championed the study, but Bik had more than a few reservations about its quality. When the author of the paper sued her, Bik received widespread support from other scientists.
On its website, the Einstein Foundation writes that Bik “has created enormous impact all over the world” by exposing fraud and manipulation in science. Bik plans to use the prize money to continue her hunt for fraudsters. (HOP, OL)
What remains of the astrological meanings attributed to planets in the early 1900s? TU Delft researcher Bart Root will be bridging the gap between the mythological significance of planets in music and scientific research into planets at TU Delft on Saturday, 16 November 2024. His brief introduction, suitable for a broad audience, will feature musical excerpts and images of the planets.
Root’s presentation is part of the Delft Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, in celebration of their 21st anniversary.
The Planets is a spectacular piece that is rarely performed, especially by amateur musicians. The score calls for a range of special instruments, such as a bass oboe, cor anglais, contrabassoon, alto flute, and a church organ. For this occasion, a women’s choir has also been formed. As a result, guest players, conservatory students, and professional musicians from Delft and the surrounding area will also be part of the orchestra.
Online ticket sales has closed. Tickets priced at EUR 22 are still available at the door prior to the concert: Nieuwe Kerk, 16 November 2024, 20:15.
A judge has wiped the student debt of a woman who was the victim of identity fraud. The Minister of Education ‘stuck to a rigid stance for too long,’ according to the ruling.
In 2022, several suspects were convicted of identity fraud. Using the DigiD accounts of 48 people, they applied for student finance. They did so retroactively, causing the amounts to balloon significantly.
One of the victims is a woman with an MBO-2 diploma. In her name, €12,500 in student finance was fraudulently claimed, supposedly because she was studying at the University of Curaçao.
Filing a Report
For nearly two years, she was completely unaware. Notifications about her debt were sent via her MijnDUO account, but why would she check it? It wasn’t until DUO sent a letter to her home address that she found out. She filed a police report for DigiD fraud.
Despite the conviction of the perpetrators in 2022, this woman was still expected to repay the debt. DUO argued that her DigiD login credentials had been used, suggesting she had been careless with them, and thus it was her own responsibility. Some victims had indeed given their login details to the perpetrators, so perhaps she had too.
Rigid Stance
The court has reprimanded the government. It wasn’t unreasonable for the minister to initially ask this woman to repay the debt. “But once it became clear that this was a scam involving the misuse of personal data from 48 individuals, a different approach should have been taken,” the ruling states. This is especially true because the victims were people in vulnerable social and economic positions.
The conclusion: by continuing to demand repayment and even rejecting a request for debt cancellation, ‘the minister stuck to a rigid stance for too long.’ The woman’s student debt will now be cancelled, and the ministry must also cover the legal costs. The ruling does not specify how many other victims should receive similar relief.
HOP, Bas Belleman
Tim van der Hagen, rector magnificus and chairman of the TU Delft, expresses his disapproval of the cutbacks in higher education on LinkedIn.
He was supposed to go to the national demonstration in Utrecht. Now that that has been cancelled, he and other university representatives will go to The Hague on Thursday afternoon 14 November to talk to a number of Members of Parliament, he writes.
Kaalslag
They still want to make their voices heard, Van der Hagen said. ‘As a cabinet, you cannot base your complete policy and economy on innovations without (continuing to) invest in them. That will result in a wholesale destruction of universities. Knowledge will be lost; the cork on which our economy floats. And tearing down is always easier than rebuilding. Therefore a red card for this cabinet.’
He will ‘personally hand out’ that card in The Hague, the rector said. His post is accompanied by a picture of Van der Hagen in a dark blue TU Delft hoodie. With his right hand, he is holding out a red card into the air.
- De VSSD organiseert op 14 november een protestactie op de campus. De Delftse studentenvakbond vraagt studenten en medewerkers om om 13 uur voor de aula te verzamelen.
Mayor Marja van Bijsterveldt will be stepping down in September 2025 after serving nine years as the mayor of Delft. She announced her decision Thursday night during a city council meeting.
By that time, Van Bijsterveldt will be 64 years old. She has chosen to free up more time for her family, now that her husband is retiring and she has grandchildren. “I have been deeply involved in public service for around 35 years. This often meant long workweeks of about 60 to 80 hours,” she explained in her speech. “Now, I want to dedicate more time to myself and my family.”
By announcing her departure in advance, the city council will have ample time to appoint a new mayor before the elections in 2026. Provincial Commissioner Wouter Kolff will soon begin consultations with the party leaders regarding the start of the appointment procedure.
With more and more people living in Amsterdam-Noord, ferries remain the most popular way of crossing the IJ River. Discussions about increasing crossing capacity usually focus on adding more bridges and tunnels. But engineer Paul van Milligen (81) is frustrated by this approach. He’d like to see more imagination and, a few years ago, proposed a spectacular design for a swinging cable car. He even calls it, a bit daringly, a ‘Swingerset’.
The Het Parool newspaper (in Dutch) described the imaginary experience like this: ‘Imagine 500 people at once soaring across the IJ in a gold coloured titanium capsule, suspended from 100 metre long cables. It’s a cable car, but much lower. Energy efficient, since this leap across the IJ is powered by gravity: the swing principle.’
The design gets many engineers’ hearts racing, but it also raises countless questions about safety, feasibility, costs, risks, and more. Daniël van Duijn, a TU Delft alumnus, will hold a discussion on 21 November at AMS on the Marineterrein in Amsterdam, a former military site. ‘I want to gather people together to critically examine the design. It would be great to invite some brilliant minds from my alma mater’, he wrote to Delta.
- The designer Paul van Milligen will also be present at the meeting on Thursday 21 November from 15:00 to 17:00 at AMS Institute, Kattenburgerstraat 5, 1018 JA Amsterdam. Sign up and have your voice heard.
Dutch students, higher education administrators, and politicians will read out over 25,000 ‘objections’ to the long study penalty in an attempt to reach the governing parties (and voters).
On the morning of Tuesday 5 November a read-aloud marathon against the long study penalty will commence outside the House of Representatives. Students and university leaders will participate, along with party leaders from the opposition: Rob Jetten (D66), Frans Timmermans (GL-PvDA), Jimmy Dijk (SP), Esther Ouwehand (PvdD), and Laurens Dassen (Volt).
Punished
The government plans to impose a long study penalty of an additional €3,000 in tuition fees starting September 2026 for students who exceed their study duration by more than a year. In recent weeks, universities have collected around 25,000 ‘objections’ against this penalty, in which students explain their reasons for study delays.
“I am being punished because I care for my mother,” is one of the examples. In addition to caregiving, there are various other reasons for students’ delays, such as elite sports, pregnancy, participation in student participation and committee work in associations.
Following the readings in The Hague, the ‘marathon’ will continue over the coming weeks at universities across the country. On 26 November, the objections will be presented to the Education Committee of the House of Representatives. That week will also see a parliamentary debate on the Education, Culture, and Science budget. (HOP, BB)
Until 5 January, Museum Prinsenhof Delft is showcasing the exhibition “The Kunst Parade.” This is the museum’s final exhibition before it temporarily closes for major renovations.
The exhibition features 38 works by both established and emerging artists who have a special connection with Delft. It includes pieces from the museum’s permanent collection that have not been displayed for a long time, as well as works by young talent. Artists with ties to TU Delft also contribute, including alumni Willem van der Hoed, Theo Jansen, Tony Monsanto, and Frank van der Salm, along with artist-in-residence Mette Sterre.
TU Delft student Lars Geluk (Applied Physics) has created a towering diptych especially for The Art Parade, exploring the aesthetics of the mathematical algorithm the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).
- Students can visit the exhibition free of charge on Sunday 3 November and Sunday 1 December upon presenting their student ID.
