Nibs

The ‘Brand Crates Lighthouse’ was comprised of 36 crate layers and stood 8.64 meters high. 1,330 beer crates were used: 980 golden crates and 350 green crates. The TU Delft Civil Engineering students Gerben Doosje, Peter Vermeij, Sofie Boogaerdt and Wouter Knaack were also previously involved with three earlier beer-crate stunts mounted by Delft students: the Heineken Beer-crate Bridge (2004), the Brand Crate Christmas Tree (2004) and the Amstel Beer Arc de la Clayette (2005).
Echo-award

TU Delft architecture student Rigobert Nivillac has won one of the five 2007 Echo Awards, which is an annual award given to non-Dutch students by the expertise center for diversity in higher education. Nivillac, who is from the Dutch Antilles, currently studies architecture at the Haagse Hogeschool. Nivillac’s prize for winning the award is a trip to attend summer courses at the University of California.
Virginia Tech

TU Delft aerospace engineering student Gijs van der Veen was very close to the tragedy that unfolded last week at Virginia Tech. He was studying in the basement of Norris Hall, the building on the Virginia Tech campus where 32 students and teachers were slain. Van der Veen (23) is currently at Virginia Tech as part of an exchange program. Interviewed in the Dutch newspaper, Trouw, Van der Veen said: “At 11 o’clock I was supposed to attend a lecture on the second floor of Norris Hall, which is exactly where the shootings occurred.” Van der Veen also said that he did not receive an email from the university informing the students of the tragedy. “We weren’t informed. I found out just how terrible the situation was by watching CNN,” he said.
Thor

For the twelfth time in eighteen years, the women’s rugby team Thor has won the national women’s rugby championship. Thor defeated the Lady Wasps from Nijmegan 39-12. The match was played at the national rugby center in Amsterdam. The victory was sweet revenge for Thor: last year the Lady Wasps beat Thor in the final. But the team from Delft deserved to win the tile this year, according to Thor flanker Sanne van Pelt: “We definitely deserved to win. We were better and stronger.”
Train tests

TU Delft transport researcher Winnie Daamen will conduct experiments with the NS that involve passengers entering and exiting trains. The experiments, which will be conducted during the Springdance Dance Festival in Utrecht, are aimed at establishing the movements of train passengers as they enter and exit trains, as this will help the train service to run more efficiently, because trains will be then need to spend less time in the stations. The experiments will take place on April 27, at 14:00, on platform 18b of Utrecht Central Station.
On time

Knowledge workers who want to migrate to the Netherlands should automatically receive a residence permit if the government does not handle their applications on time. This will make it easier for the country to attract foreign researchers and highly educated people, according to the Dutch Minster of Economic Affairs, Maria van der Hoeven. However, a spokesperson for the minister could not say what the minister considers to be ‘on time’.
3TU

The 3TU Federation and Energy Centrum Netherlands have submitted a request for 58 million euro from the Dutch Ministry of Education for a project that will conduct research into sustainable energy. Seventy researchers from the three universities will participate in the project, says Professor Hans Kuipers, director of the Twente-based research institute Impact. TU Delft’s research will focus on wind energy, TU Eindhoven’s on hydrogen, and the University of Twente’s on solar energy.

Beer-crate lighthouse

Four TU Delft students recently built a beer-crate lighthouse on the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog. The ‘Brand Crates Lighthouse’ was comprised of 36 crate layers and stood 8.64 meters high. 1,330 beer crates were used: 980 golden crates and 350 green crates. The TU Delft Civil Engineering students Gerben Doosje, Peter Vermeij, Sofie Boogaerdt and Wouter Knaack were also previously involved with three earlier beer-crate stunts mounted by Delft students: the Heineken Beer-crate Bridge (2004), the Brand Crate Christmas Tree (2004) and the Amstel Beer Arc de la Clayette (2005).
Echo-award

TU Delft architecture student Rigobert Nivillac has won one of the five 2007 Echo Awards, which is an annual award given to non-Dutch students by the expertise center for diversity in higher education. Nivillac, who is from the Dutch Antilles, currently studies architecture at the Haagse Hogeschool. Nivillac’s prize for winning the award is a trip to attend summer courses at the University of California.
Virginia Tech

TU Delft aerospace engineering student Gijs van der Veen was very close to the tragedy that unfolded last week at Virginia Tech. He was studying in the basement of Norris Hall, the building on the Virginia Tech campus where 32 students and teachers were slain. Van der Veen (23) is currently at Virginia Tech as part of an exchange program. Interviewed in the Dutch newspaper, Trouw, Van der Veen said: “At 11 o’clock I was supposed to attend a lecture on the second floor of Norris Hall, which is exactly where the shootings occurred.” Van der Veen also said that he did not receive an email from the university informing the students of the tragedy. “We weren’t informed. I found out just how terrible the situation was by watching CNN,” he said.
Thor

For the twelfth time in eighteen years, the women’s rugby team Thor has won the national women’s rugby championship. Thor defeated the Lady Wasps from Nijmegan 39-12. The match was played at the national rugby center in Amsterdam. The victory was sweet revenge for Thor: last year the Lady Wasps beat Thor in the final. But the team from Delft deserved to win the tile this year, according to Thor flanker Sanne van Pelt: “We definitely deserved to win. We were better and stronger.”
Train tests

TU Delft transport researcher Winnie Daamen will conduct experiments with the NS that involve passengers entering and exiting trains. The experiments, which will be conducted during the Springdance Dance Festival in Utrecht, are aimed at establishing the movements of train passengers as they enter and exit trains, as this will help the train service to run more efficiently, because trains will be then need to spend less time in the stations. The experiments will take place on April 27, at 14:00, on platform 18b of Utrecht Central Station.
On time

Knowledge workers who want to migrate to the Netherlands should automatically receive a residence permit if the government does not handle their applications on time. This will make it easier for the country to attract foreign researchers and highly educated people, according to the Dutch Minster of Economic Affairs, Maria van der Hoeven. However, a spokesperson for the minister could not say what the minister considers to be ‘on time’.
3TU

The 3TU Federation and Energy Centrum Netherlands have submitted a request for 58 million euro from the Dutch Ministry of Education for a project that will conduct research into sustainable energy. Seventy researchers from the three universities will participate in the project, says Professor Hans Kuipers, director of the Twente-based research institute Impact. TU Delft’s research will focus on wind energy, TU Eindhoven’s on hydrogen, and the University of Twente’s on solar energy.