The best of the best

Prior to the award ceremony, Dr Akke Suiker could not imagine that he would actually be chosen as TU Delft’s ‘Best Teacher”. “You’re aware of course that your colleagues have also earned their stripes,” he remarked following the award ceremony. “Needless to say, I’m absolutely delighted. Such great happiness is actually a bit unreal. It’s wonderful to have been chosen by the students as best teacher of the faculty, but then to be chosen as the best teacher of all TU Delft really is the ultimate one can achieve as a teacher.”

Dr Suiker teaches statics, vibrations and dynamics & stability at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering. The jury noted that students find Dr Suiker extremely approachable and that he is always happy to answer their questions. “He has a great lecturing style, involving humour and showing good examples, and he really knows how to inspire his students,” said jury member, Caroline Streng, who is also head of the student council. In winning this award, Dr Suiker receives a 7,000 euro cash prize, of which 5,000 euro is intended to be used for improving education. His competitors – and also the best teachers from their respective faculties – were: Emiel van Elderen of the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science (EEMCS), Hans Welleman of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG), Yu Song of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE), Miriam Blaauboer of Applied Sciences (AS), Robert Babuska of Mechanical, Maritime & Materials Engineering (3mE) and Pieter Bots of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM).

Best graduate
Industrial design engineer Maarten Kamphuis won the UfD-Mecanoo Award given to TU Delft’s ‘Best Graduate’ for the 2009-10 academic year. He won the award for his innovative design of a safe, steel training sword replete with rubber bumpers. In winning the award, Kamphuis also received 2,000 euros and a computer. Kamphuis’ research included an historical analysis of swords dating from the Middles Ages, as well as field research, high-speed videos, radiographs, tensile tests conducted on pigs’ feet, computer calculations and built prototypes.

Following the award ceremony, Kamphuis, who graduated in April and is a fanatic practitioner of European sword fighting, remarked that he is still often asked what there is new to design on a sword: “Well, a lot. Safety and realism seem to exclude each other when it comes to swords.” Unlike other training swords, his is largely made of steel, which gives the sword a more authentic feel. “You’re almost always struck with the inner 40 centimetres of the sword blade,” he explains. “A rubber tip makes the sword safer. I also made it so the blade can retract 10 centimetres into the handle when it strikes, which is safer.”

Kamphuis also recently won the National Sport Innovation Award for his design, and has started his own company, M_blades, to produce the swords. The runners-up for the ‘Best Graduate of TU Delft’ were: Shirin Jaffri (Architecture), Tim van Oijen (3mE), Harmen van der Laan (CEG), Bart de Keijzer (EEMCS), Anneleen Oyen (AE), and Hadi Asghari (TPM). 

Bij oprichting van het Kennisinstituut Bier werd getwijfeld aan de onafhankelijkheid. Professoren zouden zich niet moeten lenen voor zulke ideeën van de alcoholindustrie, vonden critici. 

De Wageningse professor Frans Kok had daar een andere mening over. De industrie bepaalde immers niet de onderzoeksagenda. ‘Zodra dat wel gebeurt, ben ik weg. Maar ik geloof daar niet in. Er is over bier nog heel wat te onderzoeken’, zei hij in dagblad Trouw.

Nu schrijft het instituut in een ‘bierwijzer’: ‘Mensen letten steeds meer op hun gezondheid. En daarom willen ze voldoende bewegen en gezond eten. Af en toe een glas wijn, bier of gedestilleerd past in zo’n gezonde levensstijl, dat vindt ook de Gezondheidsraad.’

Maar dat vindt de Gezondheidsraad helemaal niet, schrijft de Stichting Alcoholpreventie (Stap) in een brief. De raad adviseert niet om alcohol te drinken. Stap wil dat het instituut de bierwijzer intrekt.

Inderdaad schrijft de Gezondheidsraad iets anders over alcohol: ‘Wie gewend is alcoholische dranken te gebruiken, zou zich moeten beperken: volwassen mannen tot hooguit twee standaardglazen per dag, volwassen vrouwen tot één standaardglas per dag. Piekgebruik wordt ontraden.’ De raad adviseert niemand om aan alcohol te beginnen.

Het Kennisinstituut Bier wil nog niet reageren op de kritiek. De betrokken hoogleraren waren niet bereikbaar.