She’s called the queen of biophysics because of her pioneering research in the field of bionanophysics. After being awarded the Spinoza Prize, Marileen Dogterom is now also the winner of the Professor of Excellence Award 2025. Six lessons from the Professor of Excellence. “I am constantly learning.”
Dutch technical universities are also involved in military research with Israeli partners through their spin-offs and start-ups, according to Investico, Trouw and De Groene Amsterdammer. In the fifteen consortia examined by the journalists, they came across two TU Delft spin-offs.
Hydrogen powered aeroplanes, quieter wind turbines, satellite technology and drones. A lot of drones. At the Aerospace Innovation Hub DEMOday (at Aerospace Engineering), start-ups tumble over each other to give the best pitches. They have one thing in common: potential interest from the Ministry of Defence.
Support open science where possible, do not publish in fraudulent journals and be cautious with AI. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) is presenting a draft version of the new integrity code. Everyone can now respond to it.
The ‘lab-on-a-chip’ concept is already being widely used in fields such as healthcare. But do these kinds of chips also work in space? Niels Ligterink (assistant professor Aerospace Engineering) is investigating this question. He is receiving a EUR 700,000 subsidy to turn his dream into reality: finding chemical traces of life beyond Earth.
More and more researchers are referring to the “genocidal nature of Israel’s violence” in Gaza, writes the KNAW. The scientific society believes that the country should therefore no longer participate in the European research programme Horizon.
TU Delft was once again at Lowlands Science last weekend for the first time in years. The researchers found plenty of guinea pigs there, even if they were a bit worse for wear. “Two days ago I would’ve given better answers than on this hung‑over afternoon.”
TU Delft’s ‘no, unless’ strategy means that it will review its partnerships with Israeli institutions more strictly. But plenty of partnerships are falling along the wayside in this new policy.
Now that important academic data in the United States of America may disappear, a large group of European academics have started duplicating and sharing that data. Henrik Schönemann, the initiator, is even looking beyond this. “Universities must have digital sovereignty.”
