The Dutch Council of Ministers has appointed current dean of the TU/e department of Chemical Engineering, Jaap Schouten, as a member of the NWO board of directors and to head up the NWO Applied and Engineering Sciences domain as of January 1st 2017.
News
APPLY FOR ARC CBBC MEMBERSHIP
DEADLINE: 1 SEPTEMBER 2016
Researchers from Dutch universities and knowledge institutes can apply until 1 September 2016 for CBBC Membership. The aim is to select the best researchers from scientific and R&D communities in the Netherlands. CBBC Members are invited to form teams, propose project plans and gain excess for further in-depth discussions with fellow Members and the companies involved. Participation in CBBC projects is only possible with a CBBC Membership.
PROCEDURE
Nominations are divided into two categories: experienced researchers and young researchers/emerging talent; the latter category refers to nominees who completed a PhD less than 15 years ago. An application includes a CV and a letter explaining how the candidate believes he or she can contribute to the main research themes of ARC CBBC (CV + letter in total max. 4 pages). You can submit your application to info@arc-cbbc.nl ultimately 1 September 2016.
Find more information about the procedure and criteria in ARC CBBC Newsletter>
RESEARCH THEMES
As point of reference for the motivation on how to contribute to the main research themes of ARC CBBC, please use Figure 1 for guidance.
Figure 1: outline scope of ARC CBBC
Prof. Volker Hessel is awarded the 2016 IUPAC ThalesNano Prize for Flow Chemistry
Volker Hessel has been active in flow chemistry since 1994. He brought the idea from the “high p,T” processing into the lab-scale life and later successfully into the industrial scale. He has published several textbooks which are in world-wide use as basics for micro-flow research and also for advanced teaching.
The 2016 IUPAC ThalesNano Prize will be presented at the 14th international conference on microreaction technology in Beijing on 14 September 2016.
Grant for needle-free injection for Dr. David Fernandez Rivas
Every year, the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) awards a grant from the Pieter Langerhuizen Lambertuszoon Fonds. David Fernandez Rivas will use the grant for the development of a needle-free injection method. He is working on an accessible and inexpensive device that can inject medication into the body directly through the skin, using a tiny jet of liquid.
ARC CBBC Research Centre: powerful partnership in the chemistry research of the future
On 10 May, the Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Blocks Consortium (ARC CBBC) officially started. The research centre occupies an excellent position to play a leading role in research towards issues such as the circular economy, sustainable chemical processes and clean energy. The main priorities are the three research lines Energy Carriers, Functional Materials and Coatings.
“ARC CBBC should become the beating heart of chemical research in the future”, according to Scientific Director Prof. Bert Weckhuysen (Utrecht University).
Read more news on the website of Utrecht University
Hundreds of millions for chemical building blocks, Chemisch2Weekblad, 8 December 2015
Chemical building blocks for a sustainable future, NWO Hypothese, March 2016
Lectures Bert Weckhuysen at Universiteit van Nederland
Bert Weckhuysen appears in a series of five lectures at the ‘Universiteit van Nederland’ (University of the Netherlands), in which he explains all about catalysis: from fuels, food and plastics to air pollution control.
This week, every day a lecture will appear online:
“Hoe komt het dat uitlaatgassen steeds schoner worden?”
Monday, May 9 Watch online
“Waarom wordt het steeds moeilijker om benzine te maken?”
Tuesday, May 10 Watch online
“Waarom kun je het onderste puntje van een ijshoorntje beter niet opeten?”
Wednesday, May 11 Watch online
“Hoe kun je zelfs plastic maken van aardappelen, boomschors of suikerbieten?”
Thursday, May 12 Watch online
“Hoe verspillen we minder grondstoffen en energie?”
Friday, May 13 Watch online
Read more on the website of Universiteit van Nederland
Read more on the website of Utrecht University
News coverage of KNCV (in Dutch)
Announcement in de Volkskrant (in Dutch)
Robin Geitenbeek winner of the MCEC Poster Prize 2016
The MCEC Annual Meeting 2016, held on last April 13 and 14, was a great success. Approximately sixty scientists gathered in conference center De Koningshof, Veldhoven to discuss the present program, results, and future challenges for the MCEC projects. Throughout these two days, thirty PhD’s and postdocs presented their projects in six 15-minute-presentations and twentyfour 5-minute-pitches. Each was supported by a scientific poster.
On Wednesday prof. Niels Deen and prof. Petra de Jongh held lectures on respectively metal fuels and energy storage. All of the participants enjoyed good scientific discussions and a brisk walk before retreating to a well-earned dinner. The day ended with drinks and an informal poster viewing.
On Thursday, prof. Guido Mul (UT), prof. Rene Janssen (TU/e) and dr. Wilson Smith (TU Delft) were invited to give guest lectures. Prof Emiel Hensen chaired a final Q&A and discussion round, after which the winner of the MCEC Poster Prize was announced.
The jury, consisting of dr. Rosa Bulo, dr. Ivo Filot and dr. Stefan Kooij, judged the posters on presentation, design and contents. The jury acclaimed the poster of Robin Geitenbeek as best, among other things because its mainly image-based design invited viewers to start a discussion on the contents. Robin was surprised, but also very pleased with this token of confirmation that concerning his scientific work, he’s on the right track. One of his main concerns while designing the poster, he explained, was to make sure the contents could also be understood by people from other fields.
The winning poster: Temperature probes for catalytic applications By: Robin Geitenbeek, Alfons van Blaaderen, Bert Weckhuysen, Andries Meijerink
MCEC is represented at 251th ACS meeting
This week, Prof. Emiel Hensen and Prof. Mark Saeys (Gent University) are organizing and partly presiding a symposium on syngas conversion, titled: “Fischer-Tropsch Catalysis – From fundamentals to industrial practice”. Among the speakers will be Prof. Krijn de Jong, Dr. Ivo Filot and also Emiel Hensen himself. MCEC is one of the sponsors of this symposium, which will be held during the Spring National ACS Meeting in San Diego this week (March 13-17).
You can find the flyer for this symposium here or read more about the 251th National ACS Meeting here.
Bert Weckhuysen @ University of the Netherlands
Professor Bert Weckhuysen will appear soon in the University of the Netherlands.
The recording of the lectures was last week at Club Air, Amsterdam. You can see the lectures on ZIGGO from April 18th or on the website/youtube channel of the University of the Netherlands, AT5 and RTV NoordHolland from May 9th every day that week. There are 5 lectures recorded on different topics of catalysis. Do not miss it!
On the University of the Netherlands, the ‘best professors in the country give a free lecture on the internet every day.’
ERC Consolidator Grant for Marijn van Huis
Dr. Marijn van Huis has received an ERC Consolidator Grant of two million Euros for being the first to produce live atomic-level resolution images of how nanomaterials are formed in a solution. This is interesting for the development of new sustainable and smart materials, but also for issues such as understanding earthquakes. Read more>