Delft_University_of_Technology

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Delft University of Technology

The Delft University of Technology (Technische Universiteit Delft in Dutch) in Delft, the Netherlands, is the nation's largest technical university, with over 13,000 students and 2,100 scientists (including 200 professors). It is a member of the IDEA League.

History

On January 8, 1842, King Willem II founded the 'Royal Academy for the education of civilian engineers, for serving both nation and industry, and of apprentices for trade'. The Academy also educated civil servants for the colonies and revenue officers of the Dutch East Indies.

An Act passed on May 2, 1863, imposing regulations on technical education as well as bringing it under the influence of the rules applying to secondary education. Then, on the 20th of June, 1864, a Royal Decree was issued, ordering that the Royal Academy in Delft be disbanded in order to make way for a new 'Polytechnic School'. The School went on to educate architects, and engineers in the fields of civil works, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering and mining.

On May 22, 1905, an Act was passed, acknowledging the academic level of the School's technical education - it became a 'Technische Hogeschool', or an 'Institute of Technology'. Queen Wilhelmina attended the Institute's official opening ceremony on July 10, 1905. The Institute's first Rector Magnificus was the professor of hydraulic engineering ir. J. Kraus. The Institute was granted corporate rights by an Act passed on June 7, 1956.

It was an Act which took effect on 1st September, 1986, that officially transformed the Institute of Technology into Delft University of Technology, also known as 'TU Delft'.

On May 13, 2008, a large fire caused the building of the university's Architecture facility to partially collapse.

Campus

Initially, all of the university buildings were located in the historic city centre of Delft. This changed in the second half of the 20th century with relocations to a separate university neighbourhood. The last university building in the historic centre was the University Library, which was relocated to a new building in 1997. On the 12th of September 2006 the design of the Mekelpark was officially approved, giving a green light to the transformation of the area around the Mekelweg (the main road on the university terrain) into a new campus heart: the Mekelpark. The new park will replace the main access road and redirect car traffic around the campus, making the newly created park a safer place for bicycles and pedestrians. The completion of the project is due at the end of 2008.

Faculties

The Delft University of Technology comprises eight faculties:

3mE; Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
BK; Architecture
CiTG; Civil Engineering and Geosciences
EWI; Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
IO; Industrial Design Engineering
LR; Aerospace Engineering
TBM; Technology, Policy and Management
TNW; Applied Sciences

Education

Undergraduate Programs

All undergraduate programs lead to a B.Sc. degree.

Graduate Programs

The university offers the following graduate programs (sorted by faculty). All programs lead to a M.Sc. degree.

Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Engineering
Geomatics

Applied Sciences

Applied Physics
Biochemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Life Science & Technology
NanoScience
Science Education & Communication
Teacher programme (TULO)

Architecture

Architecture
Building Technology
Real Estate & Housing
Urbanism

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Applied Earth Sciences
Civil Engineering (with a specialisation in: Hydraulic Engineering, Building Engineering, Structural Engineering, Transport & Planning, Water Management or Geo-Engineering)
Geomatics
Offshore Engineering
Transport, Infrastructure & Logistics (in cooperation with the faculties of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering and Technology, Policy and Management)

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Applied Mathematics
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Power Engineering (track)
Microelectronics (track)
Telecommunications (track)
Embedded Systems
Media & Knowledge Engineering
Bioinformatics (track)

Industrial Ecology (in cooperation with Leiden University and Rotterdam Erasmus University)

Integrated systems analysis (track)
Technological systems innovation (track)
Organisation and transition management (track)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design for Interaction
Integrated Product Design
Strategic Product Design

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Biomedical Engineering
Marine Technology
Materials Science & Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Offshore Engineering
Systems & Control
Transport, Infrastructure & Logistics (in cooperation with the faculties of Civil Engineering and Geosciences and Technology, Policy and Management)

Technology, Policy and Management

Engineering & Policy Analysis
Geomatics
Management of Technology
Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis & Management
Transport, Infrastructure & Logistics (in cooperation with the faculties of Civil Engineering and Geosciences and Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering)

Institutes

The Delft University of Technology has the following legally recognised research institutes:

Delft Institute of Microelectronics and Submicron Technology (DIMES)
International Research Centre for Telecommunications-transmission and Radar (IRCTR)
Kavli Institute of Nanoscience
Netherlands Institute of Metals Research (NIMR)
Reactor Institute Delft (RID) (former Interfacultary Reactor Institute)
The Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies (OTB)

Rectores Magnifici

1993 - 1997: Prof.ir. K.F. Wakker
1997 - 1998: Prof.dr.ir. J. Blauwendraad
1998 - 2002: Prof.ir. K.F. Wakker
2002 - present: Prof.dr.ir. J.T. Fokkema

Student societies

Part of student life in Delft is organised in student societies. About half of the Delft students are members. The list includes:

AEGEE-Delft
Civitas Studiosorum Reformatorum
CSFR, dispuut "Johannes Calvijn"
Delftsch Studenten Corps
Delftsche Studenten Bond
Delftsche Zwervers
DSV Nieuwe Delft, better known as De Bolk
Laga
Menschen Vereeniging Wolbodo
OJV de Koornbeurs
Outsite
Proteus-Eretes
Sanctus Virgilius
Sint Jansbrug
LIFE
Technologisch Gezelschap
VSV Leonardo da Vinci

For PhD candidates there is a special organisation representing their interests at the TU Delft:

Promood, PROMOvendi Overleg Delft

There's also a students' union in Delft:

VSSD, Vereniging voor Studie- en Studentenbelangen te Delft

Notable Alumni

Engineering/Science

Ad Bax, biophysicist
Lodewijk van den Berg, Space Shuttle astronaut
Martinus Beijerinck, microbiologist
Dirk Coster, discovered the element Hafnium
Eric van Egeraat, architect
John Habraken, architect
Herman Hertzberger, architect
Jacobus van 't Hoff, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Alexandre Horowitz, inventor of the Philishave
Francine Houben, architect
Warner T. Koiter, mechanical engineer
Walter Lewin, professor of physics at MIT
Winy Maas, architect
Simon van der Meer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics
Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, geophysicist
Willem Jan Neutelings, architect
Michiel Riedijk, architect
Jan Roskam, Ackers Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kansas
Jan Arnoldus Schouten, mathematician
Bernard Tellegen, scientist and inventor of the penthode and gyrator
Johan van Veen, father of the Delta Works
Natalie de Vries, architect
Adriaan van Wijngaarden, computer pioneer

Government officials and executives

Jan van Bemmel, former rector magnificus Erasmus Universiteit
Wim Dik, former executive for KPN
Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistani scientist
Anton Mussert, Dutch wartime Nazi politician
Cornelis Lely, governor of Suriname and projectleader for the Afsluitdijk
Prince Johan-Friso of Orange-Nassau
Gerard Philips, founder of Philips
Frits Philips, former executive of Philips
Jo Ritzen, former Dutch Secretary for Education
Willem Schermerhorn, first Dutch Prime Minister after WWII
Paul Smits, former executive of KPN
Jeroen van der Veer, executive of Royal Dutch Shell
Karien van Gennip, former assistant secretary of Economy
Pieter Winsemius,former secretary of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment

Fire at Faculty of Architecture

On the morning of May 13, 2008 a fire started in the main building of the faculty of architecture. The fire soon engulfed several floors of the southern wing of the building. As fire fighters struggled to control the blaze, the fire spread throughout the building which had been evacuated when the first fire alarm went off.

The damage to the building proved to be extensive. Parts of the northern wing had collapsed and it was feared that the rest of the building would follow. However, the library, considered the be one of the finest in Europe and containing several thousand books, has recently been confirmed by Dutch newspapers as being secure and undamaged. This collection also included rare maps and cartography dating to the 17th Century. Delft University employed specialists to remove the books and materials due to the structural instability of the building, but as of July 4, it has been confirmed that these books and maps have been safely removed and show no signs of damage. This is believed to be due to the fact that the fire spread upwards from the 6th Floor, whereas the library was located on the ground floor. Firefighters were also able to save the historic models and furniture, including chairs by Gerrit Rietveld and Le Corbusier. The Architecture building is currently being demolished. The former main building of the TU Delft is now used together with tents to house the faculty.

It is believed the fire was started by a ruptured water pipe which short circuited a coffee machine on the 6th floor of the building.