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Culture change is the main focus of the Plan for change on social safety

At the heart of the Plan for change on social safety is the promotion of cultural change. Developed in collaboration with insights from DEWIS and various stakeholders across the organisation, it underscores the need for cultural change to strengthen social safety and drive tangible progress, i.e. in increasing the representation of women in science at TU Delft. Based on your valuable contributions, collected through idea boxes distributed across faculties, we're pleased with TU Delft's commitment to prioritise the need for cultural change and to keep an eye on desired long-term cultural change and what is needed to achieve it. DEWIS will continue to organise activities that contribute to the necessary cultural change, e.g. workshops or theatre plays to create more awareness and to start the conversations about our social norms. In line with the UN's noble goal of gender equality, we strive for full and effective participation and equal leadership opportunities for all genders at all levels of decision-making. We therefore applaud TU Delft's determination to strengthen the position of women in science and to increase the proportion of female assistant, associate and full professors, department chairs and MT members. DEWIS has put forward actionable proposals to facilitate this, and we're ready to engage in a constructive discourse with the Executive Board and the Deans in the next phase. You can read the full Plan for change on social safety here. On 15 May, the Executive Board presented the plan to the Inspectorate of Education. The Supervisory Board then formally presented it to The Supervisory Board then formally presented it to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf.

Effect of vibrational modes on fluidization characteristics and solid distribution of cohesive micro- and nano-silica powders

Fluidization of powders with small particle sizes is typically troublesome due to their cohesive nature. These powders to not transition from a packed bed into a homogeneous fluidizing one upon the introduction of a gas flow. Rather, they tend to stay mostly stationary, forming vertical channels through which the gas can escape. Several methods have been studied to overcome this behaviour and initiate fluidization, one of which is vertical vibration. We hypothesized that a horizontal component of the vibration would be more effective in disrupting the channelling, since the vibration would work perpendicular to the channel direction. In our work we compared the fluidization quality of beds of micro- and nano-particles, subjected vertical and elliptical (a combination of vertical and horizontal) vibration. In contrast to our expectations, we found that adding a horizontal component mitigated the effect of the vibrations, to the point that channels mostly remained present in the bed, whereas solely vertically vibrated beds showed full fluidization. Additionally, utilizing sectional pressure drop measurements, we showed improvements in fluidization behaviour with respect to the superficial gas velocity, which could not be acquired through conventional indicators of fluidization. Finally, we confirmed our results by X-ray imaging, where the presence or absence of channels could easily be demonstrated. Rens Kamphorst, Kaiqiao Wu, Matthijs van Baarlen, Gabrie M.H. Meesters, J. Ruud van Ommen Rens Kamphorst Go to the publication

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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 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