News

But still, it took eighty firemen to conquer the flames, and it was a sad day indeed for the owners of the well-stocked sports shop, Chinese restaurant and fashion store on the Oude Langedijk, which took the brunt of the blaze. By late Tuesday afternoon, the Oude Langedijk offered a strange spectacle: curious bystanders looked on from behind barriers, as the firemen did their job, yet, at the same time, for most shops in the street it was business as usual. When asked about the fire, a student who lives on the Oude Langedijk said, %%The stench of the smoke was a nuisance, but that’s about it.%%

(Joost Panhuysen)

Solar car

The Dutch solar car Nuna II has won the World Solar Challenge, the race for solar-powered cars held in Australia. In Aidelaide, the Dutch team finished first, one hour ahead of the Australians. The Nuna II car covered 3,000 kilometers in a record 30 hours, while also breaking the world non-stop distance record for solar cars. The car was built by students from TU Delft and Rotterdam%s Erasmus University, using high-quality solar cells developed by the space industry.

Dutch abroad

Studying Dutch is becoming more popular outside the Netherlands. 230 foreign universities now offer Dutch courses. The reason for this growing interest is unclear, however. Associate Professor of Dutch literature at Utrecht University, Arie Jan Gelderblom, believes the Netherlands% progressive image is helping to popularize Dutch Studies in Eastern Europe: %%A teacher from Hungary told me that for her students it’s very important that the Netherlands addresses questions like euthanasia, abortion and homosexual marriage in a very rational and modern manner. That appeals to them.%%

Broach wins

TU students of the university%s Broach sailing club were once again victorious at last weekend%s annual ‘Drie Oktober‘ (October 3rd) team-sailing competition in Leiden. Of the nine six-person teams that entered this typically Dutch competition, Broach boats finished in first place and fourth place. It%s the second consecutive year that a Broach boat won the race. Other teams competing were from the universities of Enschede, Tilburg and Leiden. The next Broach meeting will be held on November 12. New members are always welcome. www.broach.nl.

Honored woman

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Sheila Widnall has been inducted into the United States% %National Women%s Hall of Fame%. Widnall, a professor of aerodynamics, has worked at MIT since 1964. Widnall has a number of patents to her name, is vice-president of the National Academy of Engineering and was formerly the Under-Secretary of the U.S. Air Force. She joins two other MIT alumni in the Hall: suffragette Katherine Dexter (1904) and Ellen Swallow Richards (1873), MIT%s first female graduate.

web.mit.edu

India rising

India continues to develop into an important engineering country, especially in the software business. A recent survey found that in the first three months of this year 130,000 new computer science-related jobs were created in India, and the country%s software sector, which employs 650,000 people, is now worth 9.5 billion dollars. With multinationals like IBM, Yahoo and Oracle having major stakes in the country, Indian universities graduate approximately 200,000 engineers each year.

Fire

No, it wasn’t like the whole center of Delft was on fire last Tuesday: one didn’t see a %%lurid tower, visible a hundred miles away, reddening the sky, darkening the day and filling the land with smoke%%, to quote Jack London’s description of the Great Fire of San Francisco. But still, it took eighty firemen to conquer the flames, and it was a sad day indeed for the owners of the well-stocked sports shop, Chinese restaurant and fashion store on the Oude Langedijk, which took the brunt of the blaze. By late Tuesday afternoon, the Oude Langedijk offered a strange spectacle: curious bystanders looked on from behind barriers, as the firemen did their job, yet, at the same time, for most shops in the street it was business as usual. When asked about the fire, a student who lives on the Oude Langedijk said, %%The stench of the smoke was a nuisance, but that’s about it.%%

(Joost Panhuysen)

Solar car

The Dutch solar car Nuna II has won the World Solar Challenge, the race for solar-powered cars held in Australia. In Aidelaide, the Dutch team finished first, one hour ahead of the Australians. The Nuna II car covered 3,000 kilometers in a record 30 hours, while also breaking the world non-stop distance record for solar cars. The car was built by students from TU Delft and Rotterdam%s Erasmus University, using high-quality solar cells developed by the space industry.

Dutch abroad

Studying Dutch is becoming more popular outside the Netherlands. 230 foreign universities now offer Dutch courses. The reason for this growing interest is unclear, however. Associate Professor of Dutch literature at Utrecht University, Arie Jan Gelderblom, believes the Netherlands% progressive image is helping to popularize Dutch Studies in Eastern Europe: %%A teacher from Hungary told me that for her students it’s very important that the Netherlands addresses questions like euthanasia, abortion and homosexual marriage in a very rational and modern manner. That appeals to them.%%

Broach wins

TU students of the university%s Broach sailing club were once again victorious at last weekend%s annual ‘Drie Oktober‘ (October 3rd) team-sailing competition in Leiden. Of the nine six-person teams that entered this typically Dutch competition, Broach boats finished in first place and fourth place. It%s the second consecutive year that a Broach boat won the race. Other teams competing were from the universities of Enschede, Tilburg and Leiden. The next Broach meeting will be held on November 12. New members are always welcome. www.broach.nl.

Honored woman

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Sheila Widnall has been inducted into the United States% %National Women%s Hall of Fame%. Widnall, a professor of aerodynamics, has worked at MIT since 1964. Widnall has a number of patents to her name, is vice-president of the National Academy of Engineering and was formerly the Under-Secretary of the U.S. Air Force. She joins two other MIT alumni in the Hall: suffragette Katherine Dexter (1904) and Ellen Swallow Richards (1873), MIT%s first female graduate.

web.mit.edu

India rising

India continues to develop into an important engineering country, especially in the software business. A recent survey found that in the first three months of this year 130,000 new computer science-related jobs were created in India, and the country%s software sector, which employs 650,000 people, is now worth 9.5 billion dollars. With multinationals like IBM, Yahoo and Oracle having major stakes in the country, Indian universities graduate approximately 200,000 engineers each year.