The chemical engineers at Delft University of Technology are entering the new discipline of nanochemical technology. Building upon their solid background in chemical and process engineering, they want to build a bridge between the new fundamental concepts involved in nanotechnology and the process technology needed to turn them into practical applications. A recruitment campaign for three new academic chairs begins this week in Dutch and international journals.
Until now, Delft has conc
ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft has been surveying the Moon’s surface in visible and near-infrared light using a new technique, never before tried in lunar orbit.
For the last few months, the Advanced Moon Imaging Experiment (AMIE) on board SMART-1, has been opening new ground by attempting multi-spectral imaging in the ‘push-broom’ mode. This technique is particularly suited to colour imaging of the lunar surface. (Note that ‘colour imaging’ here does not mean natural colour, the colour ba
Mathematical research at Delft University of Technology is making it easier to look for oil. Yogi Ahmad Erlangga, who receives his doctorate on Thursday 22 December, has developed a method of calculation which enables computers to solve a crucial equation much faster. In the past, this stumped oil company computers.
Funded by Shell and SenterNovem, Erlangga’s research is pure mathematics. It all centres on the so-called Helmholtz equation. Solving this is important in interpreting the
Currently, an interdisciplinary research project is exploring new technologies with regard to biodegradable implants. The project is carried out by two research institutions at the Technische Universität Dresden, the Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials (MBC) at the Institute of Materials Sciences and the Institute of Textile and Clothing Technology (ITB), as well as the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden (IPF) and the University Hospitals in Ulm and Heidelberg.
The project
The Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have cooperated in developing a novel laser sensor which measures two quantities that are important for turbine engineering more precise than ever before: firstly, the tip clearance between the rotating blades and the turbine casing over and, secondly, the vibrations resulting from the blades’ supersonic velocity. The novel laser Doppler profile sensor, which has been developed by Professor Jürgen Czarske and his t
ESA’s Cluster mission has revealed a new creation mechanism of ‘killer electrons’ – highly energetic electrons that are responsible for damaging satellites and posing a serious hazard to astronauts.
Over the past five years, a series of discoveries by the multi-spacecraft Cluster mission have significantly enhanced our knowledge of how, where and under which conditions these killer electrons are created in Earth’s magnetosphere.
Early satellite measurements in the 1950
The EUREKA ITEA Cluster TT-Medal project has achieved a major breakthrough for the European electronics industry by developing a generic solution to enable automated testing of software systems. The methodologies and tools developed in the project were validated in industrial-scale demonstrators for automotive, railway, financial and telecommunications applications, proving the feasibility of a significant improvement in test efficiency, effectiveness and product quality, leading to significan
ESO Awards Important Contract for the ALMA Project
Only two weeks after awarding its largest-ever contract for the procurement of antennas for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array project (ALMA), ESO has signed a contract with Scheuerle Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH, a world-leader in the design and production of custom-built heavy-duty transporters, for the provision of two antenna transporting vehicles. These vehicles are of crucial importance for ALMA.
‘The timely awarding of
A vibrating disc no bigger than a speck of dust could help to diagnose and monitor common types of cancer and provide specialists with information about the most appropriate therapy.
The European Commission has this month awarded 12 million Euros to an international consortium led by Newcastle University, England, to develop the biosensor technology towards clinical trials stage.
The research team aims to produce a hand-held device which would enable samples of blood, s
Young men can be aggressive – even during the season of goodwill. Now, a new study by University of East London (UEL) psychologist Tom Dickins shows how patterns of male aggression vary with sexual orientation.
According to the findings of the study, forthcoming in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, homosexual men score higher for empathy and show significantly lower levels of physical aggression than heterosexual men.
However they do show similar level
From garden compost to forest greenery, the mold Aspergillus fumigatus lurks across much of the world. And so does its impact. The most common mold causing infection, A. fumigatus triggers allergic reactions, asthma attacks–and even deadly infections among people with weakened immune systems.
Now, in the December 22 issue of the journal Nature, scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and their collaborators report the mold’s sequenced genome. The genome could
Red-headed finches dominate their black-headed and yellow-headed peers by physical aggression and by the mere fact of being red-headed, according to research published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.
University of New South Wales biologists made the discovery following experiments with stunningly colourful Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae). Among Australia’s most endangered native birds, Gouldian finches are now restricted to small isolated populations
Researchers at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in India and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in France have made a key discovery about a molecule that helps the malaria parasite infect human cells. India is one of the countries most affected by this disease, which has infected 300 million people across the world and leads to over one million fatalities per year. The breakthrough, which was achieved at the European Synchrotron Radi
A study at Karolinska Institutet of 133 violent offenders in Sweden shows that 78 (58%) had consumed alcohol within 24 hours before the violent act. A large majority of the offenders were men with psychiatric diagnoses and most of the victims were known to them.
A 13.2-fold increase of risk of violence was found within 24 hours of alcohol consumption. The relative risk of violence was based on comparison to each individual’s usual frequency of alcohol use during the previous year
Computational Fluid Dynamics, a technique that can be used to measure the flow of water around a ship’s hull or the exhaust flow of a car engine, requires complex, processing-intensive software. It is therefore a key candidate to benefit from Grid computing, as the FlowGrid project proved.
By developing the architecture to run Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) applications on the Grid, the IST programme-funded initiative has provided industrial and academic users with the abili
The second member of Europe’s new generation of weather satellites has successfully been lifted onto orbit, continuing an uninterrupted series of launch successes since 1977.
This ninth Meteosat satellite, developed on behalf of EUMETSAT under the aegis of the European Space Agency, will reinforce EUMETSAT’s capacity to monitor the Earth atmosphere above Europe, Africa, the Middle-East and the Atlantic Ocean.
MSG-2 (2nd flight model of Meteosat Second Generation) was o
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