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Opening hours Architecture and the Built Environment Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 08:00-22:00 Friday: 08:00-19:00 Saturday and Sunday: closed * Employees have access to the building from 07:00 hour with an authorised campus card. Adjusted opening hours and the opening hours of the facilities within Bouwkunde can be found here . Find staff Find staff Directions Auto: The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment can easily be reached by car from the A13 motorway: Take the exit Delft-Zuid and follow the signs to TU Delft. Take a right turn onto Schoemakerstraat. Then take the sixth turning on the left, the Zuidplantsoen. You will find the car park on your right, at the rear of the building. Public Transport: The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment can easily be reached by public transport. Check online for a detailed and up-to-date travel advice. Contact +31 (0)15 27 89805 Servicepunt-BK@tudelft.nl Bezoekadres: Faculteit Bouwkunde (Gebouw 8) Julianalaan 134 2628 BL Delft Postadres: Postbus 5043 2600 GA Delft Follow us twitter facebook youtube linkedin instagram Google maps Floor plan

Research and drug development platform supported by ERC grant

Apart from storing heritable information, DNA can fold into a key that unlocks functions in specific proteins. Such DNA keys, called ‘aptamers’, are highly sought-after as new drugs and tools in biological research. Delft researchers developed a technique to find the right DNA key between the countless different aptamers that exist. The European Research Council has now awarded their idea with a Proof-of-Concept grant.

About

Mission statement The staff of the faculty of ME carry out ground-breaking and pioneering research, which leads to challenging applications and new fundamental insights in the fields of mechanical, maritime and materials engineering. The foundations and results of this research are reflected in outstanding contemporary and modern education. This education inspires ME students to become socially engaged and responsible engineers and scientists, who make optimum use of their competencies and expertise in order to resolve social problems and develop valuable technological innovations. The faculty of ME presents itself as a dynamic and innovative faculty aimed at having its staff, students and alumni make a significant contribution to the development and growth of a sustainable society, as well as prosperity and welfare. Education The faculty of ME offers high-quality degree programmes, with the best possible lecturers, curricula and facilities. Students are challenged to bring out the best in themselves and assume responsibility for their academic progress. The competencies and skills of engineering graduates enable them to work in a broad range of areas in society, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Read Vision on Education (Dutch) Research ME’s research is pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge. Researchers are conducting fundamental, applied and innovative research at a high level in all disciplines within the faculty. Cooperation with regional, national and international partners is flourishing and constantly expanding. Valorisation Valorisation is the sharing of knowledge with other parties. This can be done by supplying society with engineers and PhD graduates, by publishing scientific articles, and by converting knowledge (e.g. patents) into commercial activity. The faculty of ME seeks to develop and utilise new, useful and essential knowledge, with the research results being used by the business community or society in some cases, while leading to new educational programmes in others. ME wants to be a preferred partner for the business community and enter into sustainable partnerships. Read multi year plan Departments Alumni Dean Study associations Professors Working at the faculty Contact and map Name change

AutismeWeek 2024

AutismeWeek 2024 04 April 2024 17:00 till 20:00 - Location: EEMCS Lecture Hall Ampere. Mekelweg 4, Delft | Add to my calendar Horizon, the platform for all TU Delft students with disabilities, and the Dutch Autism Association (NVA) are therefore jointly organizing a lecture on the TU campus. On Thursday evening, April 4, Marije Pietersma will speak openly about her search in the maze for herself before and after her autism diagnosis. Marije is author of the book "Wings with a Band-Aid" and founder of The Brain Hub. When do you let go of learned beliefs? And how do you do that? Practical information: The lecture will be given twice on Thursday evening, April 4. First at 17:30 in English, then at 19:00 in Dutch. Location is: EEMCS Lecture Hall Ampere. Building 36, Faculty EWI of TU Delft. Mekelweg 4, Delft Participation is free but registration is required https://linktr.ee/AutismeWeek2024

DOGS

Who are we? Since 1991, DOGS has been concerned with the interests of MSc. and PhD. students of the section for Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at the Delft University of Technology. Originally founded in order to find (financial) support for students to attend professional meetings, DOGS also arranges drinks for the students and staff of the section. And DOGS participates in discussions about the curriculum and research of the section in the faculties Curriculum Committee and the section meetings. Another aspect is to establish and maintain contacts with the industry. News DOGS receive a certificate of excellence at SEG Dallas 2016 The board The current board consists of: Aukje Veltmeijer (president) David Naranjo (vice-president) Entela Kane (treasurer) Iban Masfara (secretary) DOGS dogs-mv@tudelft.nl Technische Universiteit Delft Department of Geoscience & Engineering t.a.v. DOGS Stevinweg 1 2628 CN Delft Open menu DOGS Sponsors Joint Master's

Alumni

The TU Delft alumni network currently has over 50,000 members worldwide, and we would like all these alumni to be able to keep in touch with each other and with TU Delft. In that way they can serve as an inspiration to current students, help fellow alumni and support TU Delft. TU Delft Alumni Community TU Delft for Life Alumni associations DSA Kalman Alumni Delft Center for Systems and Control (DCSC) +31 6 13120464 info@dsakalman.nl https://dsakalman.nl/alumni/ Mekelweg 2 2628 CD DELFT 1400 alumni members Voluntary contribution linkedin linkedin instagram facebook Alumni Platform Werktuigbouwkunde Delft (A.P.W. Delft) Studievereniging A.P.W. Delft 015-2786501 info@apwdelft.nl https://apwdelft.nl Mekelweg 2 2628 CD DELFT 351 alumni members € 17,- contribution per year (€ 30,- including year book) linkedin Vereniging Oud Leden S.G. William Froude Scheepsbouwkundig Gezelschap "William Froude" 015-2786562 froude-ME@tudelft.nl http://www.froude.nl Mekelweg 2 2628 CD DELFT 330 alumni members € 35,- contribution per year linkedin instagram facebook Stichting voor Oud-materiaalkundestudenten Het Gezelschap Tubalkaïn De Materiaalkundige Studievereniging "Het Gezelschap Tubalkaïn" Tubalkain-ME@tudelft.nl Website Mekelweg 2 2628 CD DELFT More than 600 alumni members Automatically former member, membership fee n/a Stichting Pandora Alumni Studiedispuut Pandora 015-2784955 pandora@tudelft.nl www.dispuutpandora.nl/alumni Sectie PEL Mekelweg 2 2628 CD DELFT 465 alumni members linkedin Dispuut Offshore Technologie Studievereniging Dispuut Offshore Technologie 015-2783790 dot@tudelft.nl www.dot.tudelft.nl Mekelweg 2 room 34 B-2-170 2628 CD DELFT One-off €15,- contribution "for life" linkedin

Study associations

Mechanical Engineering Gezelschap 'Leeghwater' Adress: Mekelweg 2 2628 CD Delft Tel: 015 27 86501 WhatsApp: 015 278 6501 E-mail: info@leeghwater.nl Website: http://www.leeghwater.nl Maritime Engineering S.G. ' William Froude ' Tel: + 31 (0)15 27 86562 E-mail: info@froude.nl Website: http://www.froude.nl Clinical Technology Study association 'Variscopic' Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft Tel: 015-2785947 E-mail: info@variscopic.nl Website: variscopic.nl Master associations ME Master Track Association E-mail Tel. Biomedical Engineering - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek avl@tudelft.nl 015 278 42 30 Marine Technology - Society of Maritime Technology smt@froude.nl Materials Engineering - Tubalkain Tubalkain-ME@tudelft.nl Mechanical Engineering Biomechanical Design Antoni van Leeuwenhoek avl@tudelft.nl 015 278 42 30 Mechanical Engineering Energy, Flow & Process Technology Prescott Joule prescottjoule-ME@tudelft.nl Mechanical Engineering High-Tech Engineering & Opto-Mechatronics Taylor Taylor-ME@tudelft.nl 015-2781318 Mechanical Engineering Multi-Machine Engineering Transportkunde Pandora i nfo@transportkunde.nl voorzitter@transportkunde.nl Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Dispuut Offshore Technology (DOT) dot@tudelft.nl Robotics - Study Association for Robotics & Vehicle Engineering: Asimov external@sa-asimov.nl Systems & Control - Delft Student Association Rudolf Kalman info@dsakalman.nl 06 13120464 Technical Medicine - Variscopic info@variscopic.nl 015 278 5947

TU Delft Institute for Computational Science and Engineering

TU Delft Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (DCSE) About DCSE Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) is rapidly developing field that brings together applied mathematics, engineering and (social) science. DCSE is represented within all eight faculties of TU Delft. About forty research groups and more than three hundred faculty members are connected to, and actively involved in DCSE and its activities. Over 250 PhD students perform research related to computational science. CSE is a multidisciplinary application-driven field that deals with the development and application of computational models and simulations. Often coupled with high-performance computing to solve complex physical problems arising in engineering analysis and design (computational engineering) as well as natural phenomena (computational science). CSE has been described as the "third mode of discovery" (next to theory and experimentation). In many fields, computer simulation, development of problem-solving methodologies and robust numerical tools are integral and therefore essential to business and research. Computer simulations provide the capability to enter fields that are either inaccessible to traditional experimentation or where carrying out traditional empirical inquiries is prohibitively expensive. Mission DCSE’s mission is to take up a leading role in simulating and modelling physical, environmental and social phenomena using computational techniques. The institute is an authoritative community on computational science and engineering-related research, education and strategic cooperation. We are active within TU Delft and beyond: we focus on peers, industry, universities and knowledge institutes worldwide. Vision As society, we face important social and engineering challenges. DCSE contributes to addressing these challenges. From a computational science point of view, four ingredients are crucially needed: (1) a deep and thorough understanding of underlying phenomena; (2) mathematical approximations, efficient algorithms, smart computer simulations and high-end computing resources; (3) a holistic approach to engineering, where people from different backgrounds and with different perspectives cooperate; (4) a well-trained and skilled ‘next generation’ of researchers, engineers and developers. Strategy We connect all researchers who work on enabling technology for industry, and intensify cross-faculty research and cooperation. Our broad education portfolio geared towards the engineer of the future is designed for both bachelor, master, doctoral students, postdocs and staff. With the development of the Delft High Performance Computing Centre, we meet the enormous need among researchers and students for high-end computing resources. An emerging trend is a closer cooperation between CSE and AI, both in improved simulations and in the development of highly efficient algorithms that can be used in both CSE and AI. Subscribe to our Newsletter News News Archive Agenda

Master’s Q&A March

Master’s Q&A March 19 March 2024 18:00 till 19:00 - Location: Online | Add to my calendar On 19 March, prospective master's students can ask all their questions about the content of TU Delft's master's programmes, student experiences and admission and application during an online Q&A. The presentations from the Master's Event on 29 February have been recorded and can be viewed in preparation for the Q&A. More information about the Q&A and the recordings: tudelft.nl/mastersevent

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Unconscious Bias session during Summer Introduction Programme (18-22 August 2024)

As part of Summer Introduction Programme , our colleagues Fatima Ait Bari and Stavroula Manolaki of the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Office gave an engaging presentation on Unconscious bias. The audience consisted of a group of master’s, exchange and bridging students, many from the international community, arriving at TU Delft this academic year 2024-2025. The session had as a goal to take the students along a “journey” of exploring how unconscious biases are formed, how they influence our interactions, and how we can become more aware of them. Participants were encouraged to reflect on their own biases and consider how they hinder their connection with people with diverse perspectives. Through interactive discussions and scientific insights, the presentation emphasized the importance of focusing on shared similarities to foster inclusive relationships. The D&I colleagues guided the students through a thought-provoking journey, helping them take steps toward greater inclusion and understanding in both academic and social environments. The presentation ended with encouraging the students to “Get together on the basis of our similarities; to grow on the basis of our differences”. We wish all new master, exchange and bridging students a successful and enjoyable academic year at TU Delft!

Fresh from Cafe X, not from the delivery service: food deliveries are not allowed

Geen eten bezorgen bij X
We hebben een nieuwe regel opgenomen in de huisregels van X met betrekking tot het nuttigen van afhaalmaaltijden bij X. Het is niet toegestaan om eten te laten bezorgen door een bezorgdienst en dit op het terrein te nuttigen. Je bent natuurlijk wel van harte welkom in Café X voor een hapje en een drankje.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Month 2024

In oktober 2024 viert de TU Delft de EDI-maand met als thema: United for Change, Together We Grow. Gedurende de hele maand biedt het Diversity & Inclusion office in samenwerking met de faculteiten, netwerken en serviceafdelingen workshops, trainingen en andere evenementen georganiseerd door en in de meeste gevallen aangeboden door collega's binnen de TU Delft.

NWO grants funding for innovative research on physical experimental environments

How to move from experiment to mainstream? A consortium led by professor Tamara Metze, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). In search for pathways toward more sustainable futures, Metze and her team will explore how various innovations in field labs such as The Green Village, in urban living labs such as Engy Lab South-East in Amsterdam, and in all sorts of citizens’ initiatives, can be mainstreamed and make more impact on sustainability transitions. Pilot paradox The project ‘From EXperiment to sustainable change: TRAnsformative methodologies for Innovation and learning’ (EXTRA) seeks to overcome a persistent “pilot paradox”. In this paradox, much experimentation takes place but long-term systemic impact remains difficult. Researchers together with all sorts of change makers will synthesise existing knowledge on how to mainstream, upscale, spread, broaden and deepen developed innovations. Tamara Metze: ‘I am excited to unravel what are effective ways of cocreation that lead to mainstreaming the positive changes made in experimental environments. We will figure out how learning and innovation can lead to lasting changes in regulations, policies, and financial systems and the biophysical environment.’ Tamara Metze Read the NWO press release Actionable tools The project is crucial for accelerating sustainability transitions. By refining methodologies for mission-driven experimentation and develop hands on tools for all sorts of change-makers, it will be easier to mainstream the sustainable lessons and innovations. ‘These tools will not only aid grassroots innovators but also influence institutional and organisational structures, ensuring that lessons learned from experiments are better anchored in policies, regulations, and organisations’, explains Metze. The project will employ a transdisciplinary action research approach, bringing together knowledge from various disciplines and policy domains. By co-creating solutions with public and private partners, the research will have an immediate impact. In the long term, the project aims to build a more efficient innovation ecosystem, contributing to more impactful and sustainable outcomes for both society and the environment. Projectpartners TU Delft, VU Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Hogeschool Rotterdam, The Green Village, AMS Institute; PBL Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving, WoonFriesland, Dijkstra Draisma, Provincie Noord-Holland, Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken, PRICE / Almere, BouwLab, Alliantie Samen Nieuw-West, Innovation Quarter.

Interview Eveline Vreede with Digitaal Veilig Den Haag

Eveline Vreede is the Managing Director of our Safety & Security Institute. She is responsible for collaborations, programs and the development of the Safety & Security theme at TU Delft | Campus The Hague. Among other things, she connects the institute with government agencies. Digitaal Veilig Den Haag spoke with her about the institute's activities in the field of digital security.

TU Delft Excellence Fund supports Prof. Stefan de Witte and Dr Anasua Chatterjee

With support from the TU Delft Excellence Fund, two prominent scientists recently started their work at TU Delft. As per September, Prof. Stefan de Witte has been appointed Professor of Optics for Nanoscale Metrology at the department of Imaging Physics.

Researchers Use an EUV Flashlight and Free-Air Diffusion, Plus a Clever Algorithm, to Inspect Chips

Postdoc Yifeng Shao (ImPhys) and his colleagues from Delft and Utrecht University have investigated a new imaging technique using extreme ultraviolet light to study the three-dimensional structures of chips at the nanoscale.

Outstanding Paper Award on Scientific Understanding in RL

M. Suau, M. T. J. Spaan, and F. A. Oliehoek were awarded the Outstanding Paper Award on Scientific Understanding in RL at the first Reinforcement Learning Conference (RLC).

Professor of Urban Design Tess Broekmans: ‘Designers must learn to listen better’

Tess Broekmans, co-owner of Urhahn urban design and strategy, delivered her inaugural address as professor of Urban Design on Friday 6 September. In it, she addressed ‘the complexity of the everyday’. After all, how can designers' visions connect better with people's everyday lives? In doing so, she also sees a new role for area developers.

2 Veni Grants for the ELLIS Unit

In an effort to make new and strengthen existing connections, a delegation of ELLIS Unit Delft visited ELLIS Munich and some of the most renowned AI research institutions in Munich area on the 25th and 26th of January 2024. The delegation consisted of people from TU Delft’s cognitive robotics department, and the sequential decision making group.

Unusual waves grow way beyond known limits

Waves that come from multiple directions are extremer than extreme. These remarkable deep-sea waves can be four times steeper than what was previously imagined, as is shown in research by TU Delft and other universities that was published in Nature today. A long time ago, stories were told of mysterious rogue waves that materialised out of nowhere and could topple even the largest ships. These waves lost their mythical character when the first rogue wave was recorded at the Draupner platform in the North Sea. In 2018, Ton van den Bremer and his colleagues at the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford managed to recreate the Draupner wave in the lab for the first time ever, and this opportunity to study freak waves closely produced unexpected insights. Multiple waves push up water New research by the research consortium now shows that these remarkable waves do not break when traditional theories hold they should, the secret behind which lies in how they arise. Ton van den Bremer, expert on fluid mechanics at TU Delft and led the study, explains: “When most people think of waves, they think of the rolling waves you’d find on a beach. The type of wave we studied occurs in open water and arises when waves coming from multiple directions come together. When these waves with a high directional spread converge, the water is pushed upwards, forming a partially standing wave. An example of this is known as a crossing wave. How crossing waves arise Under certain conditions at sea, waves from multiple directions occur. This can happen in a place where two seas meet, or where winds suddenly change direction, as in a hurricane. When waves from two directions meet, a cross wave occurs, provided their directions are far enough apart. The study also shows that the further apart the directions are, the higher the resulting cross-wave. Travelling waves break when they reach a certain limit, this is when they reach their maximum steepness. The study shows that waves with a multidirectional spreading can get as much as 80% steeper than this limit before they start breaking, which means they can get almost twice as high as ‘normal waves’ before they start to break. Travelling wave (l) and a wave with high directional spreading (r) Breaking waves that grow Next, the researchers found another highly unusual phenomenon that defies existing theories, a phenomenon that is unprecedented according to Van den Bremer: “Once a conventional wave breaks, it forms a white cap, and there is no way back. But when a wave with a high directional spreading breaks, it can keep growing.” The study shows that these enormous waves can grow to twice their original steepness while breaking, which is already twice bigger than the conventional limit. Together, the waves can grow four times steeper than previously thought possible. Damage to offshore structures The knowledge that multidirectional waves can become as much as four times larger than was deemed possible can help design safer marine structures. "The three-dimensionality of waves is often overlooked in the design of offshore wind turbines and other structures in general; our findings suggest this leads to designs that are less reliable", says Mark McAllister of the University of Oxford, who led the experiments and is now a senior scientist at Wood Thilsted. Innovative vertical sensors made it possible to take accurate 3D measurements of waves. Innovative 3D measurement method A 3D measurement method developed in the FloWave lab paved the way for these new insights. “Conventional 2D wave measurement methods weren’t up to the task”, Van den Bremer explains, which is why the research group designed a new way to create 3D wave measurements. Ross Calvert of the University of Edinburgh: “This is the first time we've been able to measure wave heights at such high spatial resolution over such a big area, giving us a much more detailed understanding of complex wave breaking behaviour." FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility in Edinburgh. The circular basin has a diameter of 25 metres and can be used to generate waves from multiple directions. Header image by: Fabien Duboc

A strong nose for trouble

Ammonia gas – it is both highly poisonous and corrosive, yet also often used in industry, or present around intensive livestock farming. To better mitigate the risks of ammonia leaks, Paddy French together with Lina Sarro and Sten Vollebregt will make smaller, more robust and eventually more affordable ammonia sensors. The NWO OTP programme has funded their research into a fully-integrated, single-chip sensor that incorporates two porous silicon carbide structures for detecting ammonia and humidity, all in a single layer and one etch step.

Stefan Witte joins Imaging Physics as professor

Delft University of Technology's Executive Board has appointed Stefan Witte as professor of Optics for nanoscale metrology in the Imaging Physics department of the Faculty of Applied Sciences as of September 2024. Thanks to the TU Delft Excellence Fund, Stefan Witte can get off to a flying start with his new research group and expects to obtain the first research results soon.

October 2024: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Month

Theme: “United for Change, Together we Grow” The EDI Month programme focuses on bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and opinions to foster an environment where meaningful conversations and innovative ideas can flourish. From interactive workshops on diversity and teamwork to inclusive leadership training, all with an emphasis on “practical learning” and free of charge . Curious about what's on offer? Visit the online calendar for a full overview of the events and sign up.

SPTL contributions at European Transport Conference (ETC) (18-20 September, Antwerp)

The 2024 edition of the European Transport Conference (ETC) will be held from 18-20 September at University of Antwerp, Belgium. The following Smart PT Lab contributions will be presented: Passenger preferences for (emerging) public transport access/egress modes Nejc Gerzinic, Mark van Hagen, Hussein Al Tamimi, Dorine Duives, Niels van Oort [Abstract] - [Slides] An application of Latent Class Analysis to explore the impact of sociodemographics on travel behaviour profiles – the importance of sociodemographics in transport policy Nadine Martje Eichenauer, Niels van Oort, Bert van Wee, Jan Anne Annema [Abstract] - [Slides] Towards a Global Standard for Estimating Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Public Transport Services Marko Kapetanovic, Niels van Oort [Abstract] - [Slides] The full program can be found here: https://aetransport.org/etc/programme

Towards more efficient solar cells, with a lower carbon footprint

The SiLEAN project, funded by the European Union, has officially launched with the goal of setting a new benchmark in solar cell efficiency by over 25.5%, while reducing costs and lowering the carbon footprint by up to 75%.

Ensuring safe and quick food bike-delivery services in cities

Cyclists rushing to deliver food on time to hungry customers is an increasing problem in cities with the growing demand for fast home delivery services. This surge has resulted in more traffic in bike lanes, contributing to accidents and raising concerns about rider safety. In the framework of SINERGI project researchers like Yousef Maknoon are looking into solutions that will help boost logistic operations that are both efficient and safe. ‘Bike delivery services are a great way to transport goods from A to B in a green manner, replacing delivery cars or vans. These micro-delivery systems can really help make city logistics more sustainable,’ says logistics and modelling expert Yousef Maknoon, who is involved in developing real-time decision models for the SINERGI project. Besides looking into sustainability, the project aims to empower delivery providers to offer cost-efficient services, while prioritising the well-being of riders. ‘We want to help bring down the number of accidents,’ stresses Maknoon. Private and public stakeholders have joined to conduct pilot initiatives in the cities of Amsterdam, Shanghai, Singapore and Copenhagen. Yousef Maknoon Safe routing ‘To improve rider safety, the app automatically provides recommended routes when food delivery riders receive their task, helping them avoid dangerous intersections and busy streets. In Amsterdam, the goal is to develop a map that will show the safety of cycling infrastructure. The map is planned to be enriched with real-time information such weather conditions, busy days, and times of the week to not only improve delivery time prediction but also assess route safety in real time,’ explains Maknoon. ‘But everything depends on the cyclist's willingness to take the safer route. When a rider is paid per delivery, they might not be willing to take a longer route. Especially when they know the area well, it can be tempting to take a shorter route that may not always be the safest option.’ A survey held amongst 300 delivery riders found that they can be nudged to follow the recommended routes when they are compensated financially. Profit versus safety Maknoon: ‘What we also found is that paying an hourly fee, instead of paying per on-time delivery, promotes safer riding behaviour, like Just Eat Take​away does in the pilot in Amsterdam. However, other issues arise because riders might not be so motivated to deliver on time. Then you need other incentives to motivate efficiency among riders. Otherwise, customers might switch to other service providers. This puts the business model which is based on hourly payment and prioritize safety, under pressure.’ It seems now that delivery services need to make a trade-off between profit and safety. ‘With the SINERGI project we want to empower delivery providers to offer cost-efficient services while prioritising the well-being of riders.’ Government regulation Public authorities can, for example, improve road safety by enhancing infrastructure, such as building separate bicycle lanes.’ Delivery providers can introduce incentives for riders that compensate the extra time a longer, but safer, route might take. But this puts pressure on profitability and could cause micro-delivery logistics platforms to struggle or even go out of business. It is likely that government regulation will need to play a role in profit-driven societies, as safety risks being overshadowed. Fair delivery system This is also the case for ensuring a fair delivery system where all customers are serviced, whether they live in the busy city centre or the less densely populated countryside. Otherwise, customers who live farther away may not be serviced, as longer cycling times mean less money for riders when they are paid by commission. Riders can simply reject these orders and choose to deliver only to places where they think they can earn more. Human factor In this digitally connected world, we need to consider the human factor in real-time decision-making. The wellbeing of riders, their working conditions, and their quality of life are also important when we talk about making operational decisions. It is interesting to compare the four cities and how they manage the tension between cost-efficiency and safety, and to see what they can learn from each other. About SINERGI SINERGI is a three-year project that runs from 2023 to 2026. It involves thirteen research institutions, governmental authorities, and companies collaborating on a comprehensive framework to improve sustainable city logistics. The project aims to enable real-time management and strategic planning of efficient, safe and user-friendly delivery services. Besides Yousef Maknoon other researchers from TU-Delft involved are: Shadi Sharif Azadeh (project leader), Gonçalo Correia, Kuldeep Kavta and Dongyang Xia. Read more about the SINERGI project.

Causing near collisions with cyclists to improve traffic models

It’s surprising, but in the Netherlands – a nation of cyclists – there’s very little data on how cyclists respond to each other in traffic. Yet this data is essential for creating more realistic traffic models, which in turn are key to designing better cycling infrastructure across the Netherlands. Anna Marbus, a master’s student in robotics, wants to change that by causing near collisions with cyclists.

Contributions of Smart PT Lab at ODS2024 (September 8-12, Badesi, Italy)

From September 8-12, the 2024 edition of the International Conference on Optimization and Decision Science (ODS) was held in Badesi on Sardinia (Italy). The Smart Public Transport Lab contributed to this event with presentations by Rina (Jingyi) Cheng and Renate van der Knaap. Short-term Bike-sharing Demand Forecasting under Multiple Sources of Uncertainties: A Sequential Framework with Multivariate Inputs Jingyi Cheng, Gonçalo Correia, Oded Cats, and Shadi Sharif Azadeh Abstract: A sequential framework is proposed for short-term probabilistic demand forecasting of bike-sharing services, considering uncertainties from public transit systems. Leveraging the transformer-based structure, the proposed solution is generalizable, scalable, and adaptive to new data. Through a case study with Washington data, our preliminary results suggest that the proposed approach enhances forecasting. This work is part of the Horizon-EU SUM project. Multi-period Railway Timetabling to Match Time-dependent Demand Renate van der Knaap, Niels van Oort and Rob M.P. Goverde [Abstract] The full program can be found here: https://www.airoconference.it/ods2024/schedule

Unravelling how DNA is looped with DelftBlue and experiments

Roman Barth Proteins are the molecules that carry out essential functions in our cells, such as compacting long strands of DNA into a tiny structure in the cell nucleus. Experimental biophysicist Roman Barth wanted to understand this process down to the molecular level. Thanks to the DelftBlue supercomputer, he was able to compress several years of experiments into a single year. Knowing the sequence of amino acids that a protein is made of doesn’t tell you its three-dimensional shape. And knowing its shape doesn’t tell you its function and how it interacts with other molecules when performing that function.This is the challenge Roman Barth faced during his PhD at the Cees Dekker Lab in the Bionanoscience Department. “My goal was to unravel the interaction between two proteins known to be involved in the compaction of DNA via a process called DNA loop extrusion,” he says (see video ). “The first protein, cohesin, will loop DNA continuously if unstopped. The second protein, CTCF, acts as a stop sign to cohesin. That is very important for the cell as DNA, for example, needs to be accessible when read, expressed or maintained.” This is how scientists think cohesin loops DNA The interactions between proteins can’t be calculated from their amino acid sequences using first principles. AlphaFold The interaction between the two proteins depends on their shape, the parts that are in close proximity, and the forces that then occur between groups of atoms. “These can’t yet be calculated from their amino acid sequences using first principles,” Roman says. “And while CTCF is a relatively short protein, cohesin is a complex of five subunits which it can exchange – allowing for many configurations and many more interactions.” At the start of the project in 2023, it looked like a brute-force experimental approach was the only way to go. But then AlphaFold came along. “AlphaFold is an algorithm, based on artificial intelligence, that can predict the structure of proteins from their sequence,” Roman says. “It completely changed our approach. We could now make predictions about what our proteins would look like, and what may happen to them when they meet. Instead of experimentally testing all possible configurations of CTCF and cohesin, we could ask the computer to predict likely interactions and test only those.” Project storage allows multiple users from various departments to share resource-intensive installations on DelftBlue. Powerful computer AlphaFold did come with the new challenge of requiring a powerful computer to run on – a lot of disk space to store the 5 Tb database it browses and a lot of computing power to run the algorithm. “It is almost impossible to run AlphaFold on a laptop or desktop and we lacked the expertise to build our own cluster. So, our second lucky break was that DelftBlue came online.” It also turned out that another researcher, Marcel van der Broek from Biotechnology, had already installed AlphaFold on DelftBlue. Rather than having every user install their own version, the DelftBlue administrative team setup what is now called project storage. “It allows multiple users, from various departments, to share such resource-intensive installations. Marcel and I were the first to make use of this feature for AlphaFold.” Cluster newbie Roman was still pretty much new to using a computational cluster when he started with DelftBlue, but he quickly found his way. “DelftBlue has an intuitive interface, great documentation, and a very knowledgeable and helpful support team,” he says. “You can basically figure it out from there.” He avoided running into the 5-day runtime limit for jobs submitted by breaking up the CTCF protein into smaller fragments. “Still, it would be nice for DelftBlue to have even bigger GPUs or to be able to use multiple GPUs at the same time, especially for tasks involving artificial intelligence.” One thing he really appreciated was that the DelftBlue administrators were very open to users trying out new things. “Their attitude of ‘seems to be useful, we’ll give you the resources you need’ has been very helpful,” Roman says. And when he ventured into new DelftBlue territory, such as when he submitted hundreds of jobs at once, the administrators were just as curious about how the cluster’s performance. “Turns out the job allocation scheduler handled it well.” Testing everything purely experimentally would have taken us at least three times as long. Two likely interactions Using AlphaFold and DelftBlue, Roman was able to pre-screen hundreds of different combinations. In this way, two likely interactions were identified. These were validated in laboratory experiments in which he looked for how these two fragments of the CTCF protein affected the DNA looping process. “Even though any such fragment can nowadays be quite easily purified from cells, performing the necessary experiments still took about 6 months. All in all, this project took us a year from start to finish, whereas testing everything purely experimentally would have taken us at least three times as long.” Having obtained a Schmidt Science Fellowship, Roman will next undertake a postdoc in at the University of Washington in Seattle, delving much further into AlphaFold and protein structure prediction. “My time at TU Delft and with DelftBlue has been a fantastic preparation for this next step in my career. And I hope the administrators of the supercomputer over there will be just as open-minded and helpful.” Rendering of a CTCF fragment bound to a cohesin-subunit.