Rising Stars

Robin de Kruijff

Alina Rwei

Murali Ghatkesar

Qian Tao

Kateřina Staňková

Janna van Grunsven

Liedewij Laan

Marlies Goorden

Zoltán Perkó

Valentijn Visch

Justin Dauwels

Tina Nane

Daan Brinks

Dante Muratore

Aimée Sakes

Marina Bos – de Vos

Francesco Fioranelli

Sérgio Pequito

Sebastian Weingartner

Jos Kraal

Elif Özcan Vieira

David Maresca

Tiago Costa

Stories of Science

Unravelling the secrets of life with super-resolution microscopy

Shape-adaptable DNA origami for next level biosensing

DNA origami already is an unrivalled construction method for building nanoscale structures with near-atomic precision. By combining it with machine-inspired design, Sabina Caneva adds mechanical reconfigurability. She uses this to build nano-actuators and size-adjustable nanopores for next level biosensing.

leestijd: 7 min

Organ-on-chip: Creating a home for human cells outside of the body

Associate professor Massimo Mastrangeli is the embodiment of enthusiasm for scientific research. He specifically exudes passion for his own field, namely that of organs-on-chip. “What I would like people to know about this field of research? That it’s amazing!”, exclaims Massimo.

reading time: min

How does your heart work? A digital twin holds all the answers

reading time: 6 min

Medical experts and engineers speak each other’s language in Delft

An outpatients’ centre for cancer patients is certainly not the first thing you would expect to encounter on TU Delft campus. ‘But the decision to choose Delft as the location for the Holland Proton Therapy Centre has actually proved to be a very smart move’, says Medical Director Prof. Marco van Vulpen.

reading time: 5 min

Pushing the boundaries of microscopy to understand cells better

Kristin Grußmayer pushes the boundaries of microscopy with new techniques to study the exact location of molecules, and to make extremely fast 3D images of the cell. Her research group will take a look at the early stage of Huntington’s disease on a very small scale, now possible thanks to these advanced microscopy methods: “One of the biggest challenges in the super resolution field is how to work with living cells while making sure they stay happy.”

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Inverse modelling – for improved medical imaging and much more

Hanne Kekkonen specialises in the mathematics used to solve inverse problems. Applications include medical imaging, climate change, the evolution of competing languages, materials science and many more.

reading time: 6 min

Solving the worldwide bottleneck in nuclear medicine

Radionuclides are essential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases, because they can detect and destroy specific tumour cells. Yet only a handful of nuclear reactors in the world produce the bulk of these radionuclides. Robin de Kruijff works to solve this medical bottleneck, by developing new ways to produce radionuclides to make sure they become more widely available for medical hospitals and clinics.

reading time: 6 min

Delft researcher streamlines the path to Olympic success

Imagine being able to launch a satellite that would fit in your pocket and send it into space. It wouldn't only be cheap, it would also enable whole swarms of satellites to work together. A swarm would give a much clearer picture of the radiation in space and the atmosphere around planet Earth. Early January 2022 the mini satellite of Alessandra Menicucci’s team was launched with a Falcon 9 rocket in the Transporter-3 mission of SpaceX from Cape Canaveral. The team hopes they will be able to breathe life into one of the world’s smallest satellites in space.

reading time: 6 min

“We have to close the knowledge gap on ventilation now”

What Professor Philo Bluyssen had been advocating since the beginning of the pandemic, finally happened at the press conference in July 2021. By adding a ventilation icon, the Dutch government
embraced the fact that Covid-19 can also spread by means of aerosols. While it is a victory that ventilation is now the fourth basic measure, we still have a long way to go according to the professor of indoor environment.

reading time: 4 min

Wheelchair owner and companion next to each other thanks to wheelchair attachment

A standard wheelchair is pushed, but if you walk behind it as an attendant, it’s sometimes difficult to keep contact with the person sitting in it, even though it’s a necessity. There’s probably a technical solution to this kind of problem, but then the right people have to know about it.

reading time: 4 min

Delft research unravels mystery of motion of cilia

The cilia – tiny hairs – inside our body are important to our health. They help move fluids, such as phlegm from our lungs. Eduardo Gutiérrez Prieto, a master’s student in Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of 3mE at TU Delft, explains through his research how cilia acquire their motion and how multiple of them can synchronize. This insight could lead to the more effective treatment of various illnesses. For example the treatment of smoker’s cough or other diseases of the respiratory system.

reading time: 7 min

The third dimension in tissue culture

After two life-changing moves, Angelo Accardo is now exactly where he wants to be. He is developing engineered nanoscaffolds, in which human tissue can grow as in nature. It opens up a world of applications for neural disease modelling.

reading time: 5 min

Resonance between brain and mind for better design

Caiseal Beardow, master’s student at TU Delft’s Faculty of Industrial Design, built an audio-visual installation that explores how brain and mind respond to subtle changes in a landscape of light and sound that test subjects experience in her installation.

reading time: 3 min

Nature inspires new materials

Creating new materials by learning from nature. That’s what Mohammad J. Mirzaali is working on. He looks specifically at hard and soft transitions, which connect a hard bone to a piece of soft tissue in our bodies, for example.

leestijd: 4 min

Op digitaal ziekenbezoek in Reinier de Graaf dankzij Delftse studenten

Vanwege strikte coronarichtlijnen is het voor veel patiënten in het Reinier de Graaf niet mogelijk om bezoek te ontvangen. Door alle drukte in het ziekenhuis kunnen verplegers oudere of zwakkere patiënten niet altijd helpen contact te hebben met hun naasten via welbekende middelen als WhatsApp of Skype. Delftse studenten ontwikkelden een tool die patiënt en familie toch bij elkaar brengt én het zorgpersoneel ontlast.

reading time: min

A scale model of the brain

We have ten times more brain cells in our head than the number of people on the earth. Technical neurobiologist Dimphna Meijer is conducting research into these neurons by making scale models of the networks they form. Ultimately she hopes to be able to translate this knowledge into clinical practice. “The neurobiologist of the future is also an engineer.”

reading time: 3 min

‘Rapid development of LEDs offers all kinds of medical potential’

You can use ultraviolet light from LEDs to combat coronavirus. But it’s not as simple as commercial providers are presenting it right now, concludes Professor Guoqi Zhang. On the need for a sound scientific basis and the potential for LEDs in medical applications.

reading time: 5 min

‘Once the dust had settled, it was time to focus on quality’

Developing an online course normally takes about nine months. So when all education had to be provided online in mid-March, Teaching & Learning Services had to pull out all the stops. Learning Developers coordinator Sofia Dopper reflects on a hectic period, which also gave satisfaction.

reading time: 5 min

‘They were difficult months, but also some of the best’

Professor Jaap Harlaar (3mE) had 25 students with no internships to go to but also saw a looming shortage of ventilators. Combining the two brought about OperationAIR, a textbook example of fast-track medical innovation.