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Exploring imperturbability at The Design Village in Delhi (India)

This February, four design students from three different Industrial Design Engineering master's programs travelled to India to participate in the second Joint Studio, a collaborative effort between Delft University of Technology, Politecnico di Milano, and The Design Village (TDV). A total of twenty students came together, forming five multicultural teams. Over the course of a week, these teams delved into the overarching theme of imperturbability, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "not easily upset or worried by a difficult situation; calm." The week began on Monday afternoon with an introduction to the design school and an engaging ice-breaking session in which we weaved together using Indian villaging techniques. Tuesday morning all the groups went out for ethnographic research, conducted in different parts of Delhi, to observe how people cope with their surroundings and maintain focus on their daily routine amidst the chaos. Following this, two days were spent at a gnostic center elsewhere in the city to relax, practice meditation and yoga, all to cultivate your own sense of imperturbability. These days were also very useful for personal reflection, group work and to get to know everyone in the group better. The week wrapped up with two days focused on finalizing projects and sharing the outcomes with one another. Looking back, visiting The Design Village and diving into the distinct culture of India was an incredible experience. Collaborating in multicultural teams revealed how every student brings their own unique perspective to the table and that by combining these lenses surprising results can be reached. Also, the theme of imperturbability encouraged personal reflection and stimulated discussions amongst each other on societal differences, the nature of privilege and various beliefs. An experience not to forget!

Making Green Work for Health

Victor Muñoz Sanz, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of TU Delft and Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Professor of the Department of Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP) were granted a SPRINT award to pioneer research endeavours to bring to the stage new knowledge and practices at the intersection of urban greening, health, and inclusive economic opportunities—local economies of green care. The initial stage of the project entailed arranging research exchanges with two main workshop activities, to emphasise the purpose and relevance for future (joint) research. The project involved the organisation of two seminars, workshops and field visits in São Paulo and The Netherlands. For these activities, the two researchers collaborated with Laura Janka Zires, Architecture Hub Coordinator of the Cities Lab of Insper in São Paulo. The first activity was a three-day-long programme at USP and Insper in São Paulo in September 2023 to explore existing initiatives that intersect urban health, urban greening and social equity. At TU Delft, the second activity took place in February 2024 in the form of an three-day programme to present results and exchanges with other initiatives both from the Global South and Europe to discuss their relevance for an international context and new avenues for future research. SÃO PAULO In September 2023, the first international seminar on “Making Green Work for Health” took place in São Paulo, organised by Prof. Saldiva, Assistant Professor Muñoz Sanz, and Laura Janka Zires, hosted by the Institute for Advanced Studies of USP and Insper Institute of Education and Research in São Paulo. Deepti Adlakha, Associate Professor of Urban Health at TU Delft joined the Dutch delegation. The seminar featured discussions on existing studies and strategies, attracting participants from various sectors including civil organisations, public policy organisations, and academia, including Gilberto Natalini, Secretary of Climate Change of São Paulo (until January 2024). The seminar was recorded and is available in the YouTube channel of the Institute for Advanced Studies of USP . The seminar was followed by a workshop, in which attendees collaborated on designing an international research project for scientific exchange, collaboration, and mutual learning between Brazil and The Netherlands. The interdisciplinary research exchange aims to uncover innovative policies, organisational models, and core design criteria to enhance the concept of urban greening projects within local green care economies. Thanks to the diverse range of contributions and debates, the workshop proved to be a valuable experience for Muñoz Sanz and his team, who spent nearly a week in São Paulo collaborating with researchers from USP and Insper. After the seminar and workshop session, the following two days included visits to green spaces like Cantinho do Céu linear park and Parque Augusta in São Paulo. Parque Augusta, managed by Heraldo Guiaro, stands as a symbol of popular mobilisation for urban public space. Guiaro emphasised the importance of showcasing how nature is integrated into urban life, especially considering São Paulo's uneven forestation, which affects microclimates and public health. A more detailed account of the exchange activities in São Paulo can be found in this piece of news published by Insper . Delft In February 2024, the second research activity, organised by the Section of Urban Design of the Department of Urbanism, in collaboration with the University of São Paulo, Insper, and BK’s Urban Health Seminar Series took place at the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft. The Symposium began with opening remarks delivered by Machiel van Dorst, Professor of Environmental Behaviour and Design, and the Urban Studies Section Leader at the Department of Urbanism. The first panel offered insights into the theme of “Green health. Addressing urban greening from the perspectives of human and more-than-human health.” Presenters included Prof. Paulo Saldiva, Cecil Konijnendijk, Co-Director of the Nature Based Solutions Institute and Honorary Professor of Urban Forestry at the University of British Columbia and Paulina Achurra, Professor of Engineering at Insper São Paulo. René van de Velde, Associate Professor of Urban Forestry and Landscape Architecture at TU Delft, provided a response to the presentations. In the seminar's second part, the focus shifted to "Greening Policy. Exploring urban greening at the intersection with inclusiveness, justice, and livelihoods." The panel counted with presentations by Sara Romero, Assistant Professor and PhD Candidate at the Technical University of Madrid, Maikel Lieuw-Kie-Song, specialist in employment and public investment at the International Labour Organization, Camiel Dijkers, Project Manager of Groen/Blauw at Gemeente Almere and Laura Janka Zires, Planning Director at the Planning Institute of Fortaleza and Architecture Hub Coordinator at Cities Lab, Insper, São Paulo. The recordings of the seminar will be available shortly in the website of the Section of Urban Design at TU Delft . The panels were followed by a work session touching on the topics of Urban Health, Urban Design, and Economy and Public Policy, which aimed to identify gaps, define future research questions, add potential partners and chart a specific roadmap for advancing the project, including the exploration of targeted funding proposals. After the seminar, the Brazilian delegation embarked on field trips to discover exemplary practices in The Netherlands. Among these, they ventured to Maximapark in Utrecht, where they were received by Johan Berghaus, project manager of spatial development at the Municipality of Utrecht. Additionally, the group explored Voedseltuin, with the garden coordinator Tom Lorier. Another visit was to the re-naturalised playground at Basisschool De Provenier, guided by Ian Mostert, the project leader at Kind en Natuur by IVN (Instituut voor natuureducatie en duurzaamheid). Conclusion Making Green Work for Health has fostered a successful collaboration between TUD-BK, USP, and Insper. The specific outcome of the exchange will be twofold: first, to co-write and publish a research agenda informing future policies regarding urban green and its impact on human and non-human health; second, to co-develop a supplementary research proposal focused on exploring some of the gaps identified and aimed at fostering deeper institutional collaboration between the two universities.

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TU Delft jointly wins XPRIZE Rainforest drone competition in Brazil

TU Delft wint gezamenlijk XPRIZE Rainforest competitie in de Amazone, Brazilië Stel je zich voor: snelle en autonome robottechnologie gebruiken voor onderzoek naar de groene en vochtige longen van onze planeet; onze wereldwijde regenwouden. Drones die autonoom eDNA samplers en netten voor in boomtoppen inzetten, brengen de rijke biodiversiteit van deze complexe ecosystemen aan het licht en onthullen de effecten van menselijke activiteiten op de natuur en klimaatverandering. Op 15 november 2024, na vijf jaar intensief onderzoek en competitie, bereikte het ETHBiodivX-team, waarvan ook Luchtvaart- en Ruimtevaartonderzoekers van de TU Delft, Salua Hamaza en Georg Strunck, deel uitmaakten, een opmerkelijke mijlpaal: het winnen van de XPRIZE Rainforest Bonus Prize voor uitmuntende inspanningen bij het gezamenlijk ontwikkelen van inclusieve technologie voor natuurbehoud. Het doel: geautomatiseerde technologie en methoden ontwikkelen om bijna realtime inzichten te krijgen in biodiversiteit - het leveren van noodzakelijke gegevens die kunnen bijdragen aan behoud en beleid, duurzame bio-economieën kunnen ondersteunen en inheemse volkeren en lokale gemeenschappen, die de belangrijkste beschermers en kennishouders zijn van de tropische regenwoudens op aarde, meer macht kunnen geven. Het ETHBiodivX team, bestaande uit experts in Robotica, eDNA en Data Insights, ging de enorme uitdaging aan om de manier waarop we ecosystemen monitoren te automatiseren en te stroomlijnen. Aan het hoofd van de robotica-afdeling, een samenwerking tussen Universitair Hoofddocent Salua Hamaza van de TU Delft, prof. Stefano Mintchev van de ETH Zürich en prof. Claus Melvad en Toke Thomas Høye, ontwikkelt baanbrekende robotoplossingen om autonoom ecologische en biologische gegevens te verzamelen. “We stonden voor de immense uitdaging om robots in het wild in te zetten - en niet zomaar in een buitenomgeving, maar in een van de meest veeleisende en onbekende: de natte regenwouden. Dit vereiste buitengewone inspanningen om robuustheid en betrouwbaarheid te garanderen, waarbij we de grenzen verlegden van wat de hardware kon bereiken voor autonome gegevensverzameling van beelden, geluiden en eDNA in het Amazonegebied”, zegt universitair hoofddocent Hamaza. “Uiteindelijk zal deze technologie beschikbaar zijn voor inheemse gemeenschappen als hulpmiddel om de voortdurende veranderingen in de biodiversiteit van het bos beter te begrijpen, die de lokale bevolking voorziet van essentiële hulpbronnen zoals voedsel en onderdak.” . . . .

Students Amos Yusuf, Mick Dam & Bas Brouwer winners of Mekel Prize 2024

Master students Amos Yusuf, from the ME faculty (Mick Dam, from the EEMCS faculty and graduate Bas Brouwer have won the Mekel Prize 2024 for the best extra scientific activity at TU Delft: the development of an initiative that brings master students into the classroom teaching sciences to the younger generations. The prize was ceremonially awarded by prof Tim van den Hagen on 13 November after the Van Hasselt Lecture at the Prinsenhof, Delft. They received a statue of Professor Jan Mekel and 1.500,- to spend on their project. Insights into climate change are being openly doubted. Funding for important educational efforts and research are being withdrawn. Short clips – so called “reels” – on Youtube and TikTok threaten to simplify complex political and social problems. AI fakes befuddle what is true and what is not. The voices of science that contribute to those discussion with modesty, careful argument and scepticism, are drowned in noise. This poses a threat for universities like TU Delft, who strive to increase student numbers, who benefit from diverse student populations and aim to pass on their knowledge and scientific virtues to the next generation. It is, therefore, alarming that student enrolments to Bachelor and Master Programs at TU Delft have declined in the past year. Students in front of the class The project is aimed to make the sciences more appealing to the next generation. They have identified the problem that students tend miss out on the opportunity of entering a higher education trajectory in the Beta sciences – because they have a wrong picture of such education. In their mind, they depict it as boring and dry. In his pilot lecture at the Stanislas VMBO in Delft, Amos Yusuf has successfully challenged this image. He shared his enthusiasm for the field of robotics and presented himself as a positive role model to the pupils. And in return the excitement of the high school students is palpable in the videos and pictures from the day. The spark of science fills their eyes. Bas Brouwer Mick Dam are the founders of NUVO – the platform that facilitates the engagement of Master Students in high school education in Delft Their efforts offer TU Delft Master Students a valuable learning moment: By sharing insights from their fields with pupils at high school in an educational setting, our students can find identify their own misunderstandings of their subject, learn to speak in front of non-scientific audiences and peak into education as a work field they themselves might not have considered. An extraordinary commitment According to the Mekel jury, the project scored well on all the criteria (risk mitigation, inclusiveness, transparency and societal relevance). However, it was the extraordinary commitment of Amos who was fully immersed during his Master Project and the efforts of Brouwer and Dam that brought together teaching and research which is integral to academic culture that made the project stand out. About the Mekel Prize The Mekel Prize will be awarded to the most socially responsible research project or extra-scientific activity (e.g. founding of an NGO or organization, an initiative or realization of an event or other impactful project) by an employee or group of employees of TU Delft – projects that showcase in an outstanding fashion that they have been committed from the beginning to relevant moral and societal values and have been aware of and tried to mitigate as much as possible in innovative ways the risks involved in their research. The award recognizes such efforts and wants to encourage the responsible development of science and technology at TU Delft in the future. For furthermore information About the project: https://www.de-nuvo.nl/video-robotica-pilot/ About the Mekel Prize: https://www.tudelft.nl/en/tpm/our-faculty/departments/values-technology-and-innovation/sections/ethics-philosophy-of-technology/mekel-prize

Veiligere en efficiëntere bloedvatbehandelingen door innovatieve kathetertechnologie

Wereldwijd worden jaarlijks meer dan 200 miljoen katheters gebruikt voor de behandeling van vaatziekten zoals hartaandoeningen en slagadervernauwing. Hoewel essentieel, brengt het gebruik van katheters risico’s met zich mee: wrijving tussen de katheter en de vaatwand kan complicaties veroorzaken. Een nieuwe technologie, ontwikkeld door Mostafa Atalla en zijn team, biedt een oplossing. Met één druk op de knop kan de wrijving van de katheter worden aangepast, van maximale grip naar volledige gladheid. Deze innovatie belooft niet alleen veiligere, maar ook efficiëntere endovasculaire procedures mogelijk te maken. De resultaten zijn gepubliceerd in het wetenschappelijk tijdschrift IEEE. Slimme katheter met instelbare wrijving Het nieuwe katheterprototype is uitgerust met geavanceerde technologie die de wrijving tussen de katheter en vaatwand nauwkeurig reguleert via ultrasone trillingen. Dit mechanisme zet via ultrasone trillingen de dunne vloeistoflaag onder druk waardoor de wrijving dynamisch kan worden aangepast: lage wrijving voor soepele navigatie door bloedvaten en hogere wrijving voor optimale stabiliteit tijdens een procedure. Tests tonen aan dat deze techniek de wrijving op harde oppervlakken met gemiddeld 60% vermindert en op zachte oppervlakken met 11%. Veelbelovende resultaten Bij experimenten op dierlijk aortaweefsel heeft het prototype zijn potentieel bewezen. Deze innovatie kan niet alleen bij vaatbehandelingen worden ingezet, maar mogelijk ook bij andere medische procedures, zoals interventies in de darmen. De onderzoekers zijn nu bezig de technologie verder te ontwikkelen en te testen op bredere toepassingen. Meer informatie Publicatie DOI: 10.1109/TMRB.2024.3464672 Toward Variable-Friction Catheters Using Ultrasonic Lubrication | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore Mostafa Atalla: m.a.a.atalla@tudelft.nl | Aimee Sakes: a.sakes@tudelft.nl | Michael Wiertlewski: m.wiertlewski@tudelft.nl Wil je een demonstratie bijwonen of in contact komen met een van de onderzoekers neem contact op met: Fien Bosman, persvoorlichter TU Delft Health: f.j.bosman@tudelft.nl/ 0624953733