News in Brief

TU Delft asked participants to send in their solutions to urban water problems in the form of a short film lasting up to three minutes. Three winning entries, selected by a panel of experts, will be premiered for TU students and staff on 31 May during the special anniversary Water Film Festival. The winning short film receives a cash prize of 1,000 euros and will be entered in the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). To attend the film première, register at the website.

tudelft.nl/waterfilmfestival

Ecomarathon

Driving from Delft to Andalusia on just one litre of fuel. Theoretically it’s possible, or so a group of TU Delft students who participated to the Shell Ecomarathon demonstrated last weekend in Rotterdam. The goal of this annual competition is to drive as efficiently as possible over a racing circuit in self-made vehicles, powered by gasoline, electric or hydrogen. With their Ecorunner, running on hydrogen, the students obtained a score of (the energy equivalent of) 1 litre of petrol for 1698 kilometres. This year’s record was 1 on 4800 kilometres.

Superbus

The Superbus, the electric bus of former astronaut Wubbo Ockels, received a license plate last week. Ockels and his team are now allowed to experiment with this futuristic vehicle on public roads. Ockels envisions a public transport system in which superbuses transport people all over the country via special superbus freeways at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour.



Prometheus contest

TU Delft’s statue of Prometheus was stolen earlier this year. Now the university is inviting all students and staff to join a contest for designing a new statue, which can be based on the old statue or a completely new design. The statue will be positioned in exactly the same place as the stolen one. Prometheus, a Greek god, taught people to build houses, farm, build ships, and gave them knowledge of herbs and minerals. Among the design criteria: the statue must depict Prometheus and the TU Delft flame, be durable, capable of withstanding cold, wind and rain, and in proportion to existing plinth’s dimensions: 70x70x120cm. Creating the statue must not exceed €10,000, which TU Delft will cover. Designs must be submitted by email before 30 June to Carin Salomon at prijsvraag@tudelft.nl.

Free studies

FME chairwoman Ineke Dezentjé Hamming-Bluemink stated that study programs at technological universities should be free, as this will help prevent shortages of science and technology technicians. The FME Association represents employers and businesses in the technology sector. “A lack of science technicians is the biggest threat to the continued existence of the technology industry in the Netherlands,” said Dezentjé Hamming-Bluemink, a former VVD party politician. “I’m calling on the government to make a statement…and scrap tuition fees for technical studies.”

Big Macs

Salaries in the Netherlands are among the highest in the world, according to the WageIndicator Foundation’s 2011 study of working condition in 65 countries. While western European salaries are routinely high compared to other countries, the Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom are the highest salaried countries in Europe. To assess relative spending power, WageIndicator uses a McDonald’s Big Mac indicator; that is, it determines how many Big Macs a person can buy with the percentage of their hourly wage available as disposable income. A Dutch manager for example can buy four Big Macs with his hourly wage, compared to 4.8 Big Macs for a UK manager. A Dutch manager earns a slightly higher hourly wage ($26.10) dollars compared to a UK manager (S24.50), but the British manager pays less in taxes.  

Summer festival

TU Delft’s Summer Festival will be held on 1 June, from 16-01:00 at the Sport & Culture. This dynamic indoor and outdoor festival is a synergy of live music, art and science packed into a single day. Several TU Delft test installations relating to water will be on display in a special marquee, where there will also be a photo exhibition of students4Sustainability water projects. The festival is open to everyone.