Shipwrecked
After the sinking of the Titanic, 100 years ago on 15 April, the safety of passenger ships has been enormously increased.
Nonetheless, occasional disasters like with the Costa Concordia continue to happen. So, do technological and procedural improvements make any sense? Professor of Ship Design, Hans Hopman (3mE), thinks so, and explains why in this week’s reportage.
38 million for RID
The Reactor Institute Delft is to receive 38 million euros from the government, which will enable the institute to maintain and strengthen its position as a centre of expertise and education in the field of nuclear technology and radiation. The most significant improvement in terms of the research with the reactor comprises the purchase of a Cold Source: a device that can slow down the speed of neutrons. This enables particles to be more accurately guided for applications such as material research.
Overcharging
According to the advocate general of the European Court of Justice, the Netherlands is overcharging people from non-EU countries for their residence permits. The case was brought by the European Commission, which says Dutch residence permit fees are excessive. European Union law allows member states to determine how much they charge for residence permits, with the proviso that fees should not be so high that people cannot afford to pay it. The difference between Dutch fees for permits for EU residents and fees for non-EU people is excessive, the court found, and as such the Netherlands could be attempting to prevent non-EU residents from obtaining residence permits. The advocate general’s recommendation to lower the fee is not binding, however, although the Court of Justice generally agrees with such recommendations and will rule on the matter later this year.
Trauma therapy
Virtually reconstructing places of mischief and crime scenes in a computer program can help people who were sexually abused as children and soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder to deal with their traumas. Or so Dr Willem-Paul Brinkman (EEMCS faculty) and a group of psychologists and psychiatrists he works with believe. Together they have developed such computer programs, one of which (for sexually abused people) is now being tested at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Speak Dutch
The conservative VVD party has proposed that only people who can speak Dutch should be eligible for social welfare assistance. The VVD hopes the proposal will become law by 1 January 2013. Both the centre-right Christian Democrats and center-left D66 parties support the proposal, as well as Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party. VVD MP Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said people applying for welfare will be given an opportunity to improve their Dutch language proficiency in classes, but if “they don’t cooperate, their payments will be reduced by 20 percent after six months. If they still resist cooperating after that, their welfare benefit will be cut by 40 percent, until eventually they will forfeit their right to receive any social assistance.”
UFOs exist
Rector magnificus Karel Luyben is in discussion with Coen Vermeeren, head of Studium Generale, over the question of whether Vermeeren’s views about UFOs “can be satisfactorily separated from his responsibilities at TU Delft”. Luyben said, via his secretary, that at this stage he does not believe it prudent to further comment on the issue. On 3 December, Vermeeren was quoted in a De Telegraaf newspaper article expressing his beliefs about UFOs. The article was headlined, ‘UFOs exist!’ Vermeeren was then interviewed in a Radio 1 program about whether Dutch astronaut ‘Andre Kuipers will encounter UFOs?’ In both interviews, Vermeeren was introduced as an aerospace engineering instructor at TU Delft, which is a position he holds in addition his position at Studium Generale. Vermeeren told Radio 1 interviewer Thijs van den Brink that he believes he must be allowed to speak openly and honestly about his belief in the existence of UFOs. The university has another opinion about this, however.
Integrity policy
The Executive Board should get to grips with integrity policy, the Works Council states after publications in NRC Handelsblad. Last Tuesday the Dutch newspaper wrote that the Executive Board had gone against his own orders by claiming more than allowed in expenses for business trips. Earlier this week Executive Board president Dirk Jan van den Berg said that it was inadmissable that dean Marco Waas had claimed expenses for his wife’s businesses. Waas decided to resign as as dean of the 3mE faculty.
As the clubs website proclaims, ‘09-09-09 was a special day’, not only ‘because of the beautiful date’ and the fact it was National Sustainability Day in the Netherlands, but because that day marked the start of TU Delft’s Energy Club, a student-led organization that’s part of the larger Delft Energy Initiative, a university-wide drive to bring more than 700 scientists and researchers working on energy technology at TU Delft together as partners with companies, government agencies and other social stakeholders eager to access the university’s extensive knowledge in the energy field.
Now entering its third year of life, TU Delft’s Energy Club is still going strong, although the club had to overcome some early growing pains. Devised as both ‘a network and a platform’, the Energy Club’s mission statement is to ‘create a community with people passionate about energy, sharing information and inspiration’. However, in a challenge to the club’s future prospects, the desired ‘community’ has thus far been largely made up of international students, with less Dutch students joining the club’s ranks.
Marcelino Cancela, an MSc student (process & energy technology) from Spain, says this must change. He joined the Energy Club soon after its inception and also served as a board member from January to December 2010. Cancela says it is vitally important for the Energy Club to have a broad network among both Dutch and international students.
What prompted you to first get involved in the Energy Club?
“The world is currently experiencing a deep transformation of the dominant energetic model, a transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy – wind, solar, and so on. I have an absolute passion for sustainable energy and I believe that we TU Delft students can play an important role in the energy transition process. So, when I got to know about the existence of the Energy Club, I decided to join, eventually becoming a board member.”
Gives us an idea of the complexion of the Energy Club.
“The Energy Club has currently around 400 members – most of them are TU Delft students, but there are also some members who are PhD candidates, researchers, professors and university alumni. Most of the students however are MSc students, with the majority coming from foreign countries.”
Why do you most of the Energy club’s members are international MSc students?
“I think there are several reasons. First, English is the Energy Club’s communication language, which probably constitutes a barrier for Dutch BSc students, who usually think that activities in English are not meant for them but for MSc students. Second, many of the members are enrolled in the Master’s programme Sustainable Energy Technology, which has a very high rate of international students. Third, when I was on the board, all the other board members were international, too; because of this, we missed strong network connections with Dutch students.”
So is the club now working to improve this?
“Indeed, the new board is a mixed Dutch/International group – and it even includes a BSc student. This high diversity gives the organization a much more solid base and broader reach, which is very positive because, as I’ve said, the organization did not have enough connections with Dutch students last year, when I was a board member. In my opinion the best way to integrate Dutch and international students is to give them the opportunity to work and spend time together.”
What are some things you learned from your experience as board member of the Energy Club?
“During my term in 2010 I was involved in many activities. We organized lectures by top scientists, like Professor Ernest Moniz, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative, and we initiated very exciting projects, like the participation of a group of TU Delft students in the Solar Decathlon Europe. Being a board member gave me the chance to get in touch with remarkable students, researchers, institutions and companies. I now better how to behave in a professional environment. Also, I learned to work in a team to achieve a particular goal, to overcome difficulties and to deal with pressure. I absolutely recommend students to get involved in student organizations like the Energy Club. It’s very stimulating and you learn a great deal!”
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