Mechanical engineering students Sweder Reuchlin (l) and Daan Kerssenmakers are working on a fine summer project: the solar water heater. The parabolic mirror concentrates sunlight on the tube in its focal point and heats the water that flows through it. This produces 9 litres of water at 55 degrees Celsius per hour. Together…
Will European research billions survive? If it is up to the European Commission, the corona crisis will not affect the EU’s research and innovation budget for the next seven years. Wednesday, the European Commission presented its new budget proposal of €1,100 billion, together with the €750 billion reconstruction programme due to the corona crisis.…
Waste separation stations in the Architecture building and the Aula At the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and in the Aula, waste will be collected separately from 1 June. During a six-month pilot, all loose waste bins at these locations will be replaced by waste stations where paper, PMD (plastic, metal and…
Sebastiaansbridge reopens 12 June On Friday 12 June the new Sebastiaansbridge will reopen for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transportation. However, tram 19 will not run for the time being. This is what the board of mayor and aldermen writes (Dutch only) in a letter to the municipal council. The delay is mainly due to…
Breaking down plastics No one knows if it can be done, but Professor Frank Hollmann’s group of biocatalysis is going to try anyway: breaking down plastics with enzymes. Hollmann’s group in the Applied Sciences Faculty is one of 10 partners in a 3.18 million euro project called Bizente – one of more than 20 projects…
Cambridge: all lectures to be online-only next academic year In the corona crisis, Cambridge University is looking more than a year ahead. Until the summer of 2021, all lectures will be online, the top university has announced. It is the first top university to make a decision about this. Most other institutions are not yet officially…
Million-dollar deal with Elsevier on open science Dutch universities and research institutes have reached an agreement with scientific publisher Elsevier on open access to publications and open science. Dutch researchers can now publish in open access in 95 percent of the Elsevier titles. Their articles will then be freely accessible to everyone, including interested outsiders.…
Public transport advises to stay away Will there be place in public transport as the lockdown is gradually being opened up? Due to the corona crisis, the use of public transport has dropped by 90%. However, due to the introduction of the 1.5 metre measures, capacity has also been slashed by 75%. Thus far,…
Want to study abroad? Want to study in Paris, Berlin or Barcelona for a few months? The question is, when will that be possible again? Dutch universities are considering postponing the international exchange for a while. The University of Amsterdam has already made the decision: students cannot go abroad on exchange after the summer holidays.…
Kooy Prize for research fast helicopters Laurent Declerck MSc received the Kooy Award from the Kivi Department of Defense and Security for his graduation work on so-called compound helicopters, last April. This new type looks like a hybrid between a helicopter and an airplane. Because of the fixed wing, the aircraft can reach a higher…
