Campus

News in Brief

New institute
Professor Andrzej Stankiewicz (3mE) has been appointed director of the
Institute for Process Technology – the first of four new institutes.

In the Delta page 2 interview, Prof. Stankiewicz says that employees from chemical

engineering and biotechnology (Applied Sciences) and process & energy (3mE) will have their offices in the new AS building and a large experimental facility at the Leeghwaterstraat. Three other institutes are expected to commence this year: robotics, transport and climate.


Waas resigns

Marco Waas, dean of the faculty of 3mE since April 2004 and manager of the knowledge valorisation portfolio, will step down as dean at the conclusion of his current term on 1 April 2012. “After my second term as dean I will concentrate fully on open innovation and entrepreneurship in a regional, national and international framework”, Waas said during the faculty’s New Year’s reception. In June 2011, Waas was in the news when the Dutch national newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, reported that Waas had “for years been guilty of conflict of interest”, as he had been involved in six commissions involving his wife’s company, including those for Science Port Holland and YESDelft. Following Waas’s announcement of his impending resignation, the TU Executive Board thanked him for “the quality, enthusiasm and passion he has shown in his management of the faculty during the past eight years”. The university will now begin the search for a new dean for the 3mE faculty.


Kuipers in orbit

“ISS this is TU Delft for a voice check. How do you read?” An overflowing

lecture room of students at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering were waiting impatiently for an answer (which took about eight seconds) last Tuesday. The university had a live video connection with astronaut André Kuipers, who is currently circling the earth in the international space station ISS. “I’m doing fine,” the astronaut told the students. “I’m starting to feel at home here.”


Anti-academic

Rector magnificus Karel Luyben is worried about the “strong anti-academic wind” in the Netherlands. Speaking at the 170th Dies Natalis ceremony this week, he said that he believes it necessary to state more clearly “the scientific contribution of TU Delft to society”. According to Luyben, the general public forgets too easily that Dutch prosperity is partly due to the “inventiveness and hard work of our scientists. Over the past 170 years, TU Delft has always been at the forefront of the development of knowledge that has led to a safe and prosperous country.” Universities deserve to be highly esteemed, Luyben stated. He criticized the atmosphere of “science is also just an opinion” that he senses in the Netherlands today.

Bij Sint Jansbrug is de verslagenheid ontzettend groot, zegt vice-president Frans Bookholt. Er is een periode van zeven dagen verenigingsrouw afgekondigd, tot en met zondag.

“Het pand en samenkomsten op de sociëteit worden versoberd”, zegt Bookholt. “Dat betekent: geen muziek en posters en een zeer gematigd alcoholgebruik. De sociëteit is een plek van samenkomst om troost bij elkaar te vinden. ”

Voor eenieder die zich erbij betrokken voelde was er zondagmiddag een bijeenkomst bij de vereniging. “Het was een samenzijn waarin mensen konden vertellen wat er gebeurd is”, zegt Bookholt. “Betrokkenen hebben die avond nog slachtofferhulp ontvangen.”

Zie ook: Man (22) verdronken bij scoutingterrein Capelle

en: Jongen (22) dood aangetroffen onder ijs


Health coach

The TU Delft Health Coach Program has proved to be a success. Participants

are healthier than before they adopted a new lifestyle. The university therefore will expand the program in the coming years. Last year, 101 TU Delft

employees participated in the program, which focused on healthier nutrition, more exercise and stress management. At the end of the year, 75 percent felt fitter. Participants also had lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and they lost weight and lowered their blood sugar. Nearly half of all participants stated that they felt more productive. In 2012, 200 employees will start the program.


Rising migration

According to figures released by Netherlands Statistics (CBS), 160,000 people moved to the Netherlands from abroad in 2011, which are 6,000 more people than in 2010. Emigration from the Netherlands also increased to 133,000 people in 2011, which were 12,000 more than in 2010. The majority of the immigrants arriving in the Netherlands were from fellow EU countries, with the total population of the Netherlands increasing by 72,000 people, or 9,000 people fewer than in 2010. The population of the Netherlands now stands at 16.7 million. The CBS also reported that there were 180,000 births in 2011 (compared to 135,000 deaths), which is 4000 fewer births than in 2010. The turbulent economic conditions in the country were said to contribute to fewer births last year.  

Editor Redactie

Do you have a question or comment about this article?

delta@tudelft.nl

Comments are closed.