Sport

Na uitzeges op Gemini (9-11) en Spirit (8-9) stond zaterdag op het sportcentrum het Zaandamse ZKV tegenover de Delftse studenten. Vlak voor tijd scoorde Christiane de Koning de beslissende 10-9, in een wedstrijd die lange tijd gelijk opging. Marco Rot werd met vier rake worpen topschutter aan Delftse kant. De vierdeklasser gaat nu met het volle pond (negen uit drie) aan de leiding. “Een nieuw team en een nieuwe coach”, luidde de simpele verklaring van aanvoerder Jesper Wielinga voor de opvallende reeks positieve resultaten. Van het achttal van vorig seizoen staan er nu nog slechts twee in het eerste team. “Hopelijk leidt het tot een mooi seizoen en veel zeges”, temperde de captain de al te optimistische verwachtingen.

Enkele tientallen meters verderop streden de voetballers van Ariston’80 om de keiharde punten tegen stadgenoot DVC. Vlak na rust kwamen de bezoekers op voorsprong, halverwege de tweede helft trok Michiel Biesheuvel de stand gelijk. Dezelfde uitslag (1-1) stond een dag later op het scorebord na het duel tussen Warmunda en de studenten van Taurus, dat tot nu toe en bescheiden rol speelt in de vierdeklasse.

Die bescheiden rol bleek zaterdag in Amsterdam eveneens weggelegd voor wielrenster Debbie Ammerlaan. Op het NSK op de weg voor licentiehouders moest de rijdster van Restore Cycling zich na zestien rondjes over 4,5 kilometer tevreden stellen met de 25ste plaats. “Ik was iets te actief in het begin, waardoor ik in de massasprint naar de finish te ver van achteren zat”, verklaarde de studente civiele techniek haar teleurstellende prestatie.
Haar ploeggenoot, de 18-jarige student technische wiskunde Rune van der Meijden, presteerde als junior bij de heren boven verwachting met zijn negende plaats: “Het was voor mij de eerste keer dat ik tussen eliterijders reed. Dat was wel even wennen, maar het ging goed. Het was de vraag hoe het zou gaan tussen ervaren 25-jarige coureurs die veel meer trainingsuren in de benen hebben. Wat dat betreft was de negende plaats een positieve verrassing.” De rit ging over ruim honderd kilometer.

Komende zaterdag staat het nationaal clubkampioenschap ploegentijdrit op de wielerkalender. Een prestigieus evenement, vertelt Rik Houwers van studentenwielervereniging Wtos. Met zijn vijf teamgenoten en ploegleider Rob Lokate toog Houwers maandag naar Groningen om daar het parkoers alvast te verkennen. De Wtos-equipe neemt de wedstrijd erg serieus: “We zijn al zes weken in voorbereiding. Vorig jaar moesten we op het laatste moment afzeggen, omdat ik een dag tevoren ziek werd, maar nu hebben we een erg goede, gemotiveerde groep.”
 

Why did you decide to accept a teaching position at TU Delft?
“Well, I was looking for some international teaching experience. At the time I was working at the Bhabha Nuclear institute, and I had fair knowledge of the good nuclear institutes around the world. I happened to see an interesting post from TU Delft’s department of radations, radionuclides and reactors. Although the position was for only one year, I applied and they readily agreed to hire me.”

Although your time at Delft was relatively brief, how has your TU Delft experience helped you in your career?
“What I really liked about TU Delft was that all the research being done was applied – that is, whatever research is to be conducted should be done for the benefit of society. I liked this way of thinking.”

What are some of the main differences between TU Delft and your home institution – the Bhabha Atomic Research Center?
“The general working conditions are quite similar, as they are mission-oriented in nature. Goals are well defined at TU Delft, which is not quite the case in my home institution, as sometimes goals are set but get diffused after some time, with people indulging in fundamental research but then forgetting about the goal. But this is bound to happen, as Bhaba is not only the premier research institute in India, but also a national laboratory, so the grants we receive are from Indian government and run according to the five-year plans set by the government.”

Does private industry play a greater role in research at TU Delft than at Bhaba?
“Yes, at Bhabha there’s no role for the private player, as it’s a national laboratory. Conversely, while I was working at TU Delft I had a meeting with a company called Urenco, in which I had to present the research being conducted at the TU Delft’s nuclear institute. After the presentation, Urenco agreed to sponsor the research. I even recommended a postdoctoral fellow from India to come to Delft and conduct the research.”

What type of research were you conducting at the TU Delft’s nuclear institute?
“I was involved with the development of methodologies for enriching radioisotopes – called Mo-99 – that are useful in nuclear medicine If we could achieve an enrichment factor of more than 1000, it would be a breakthrough in producing high specific activity Mo-99 without the fission reaction. When I left the institute, we had achieved an enrichment factor of about 200. But I am happy to report that recently I received a message that an enrichment factor of more than 1000 has indeed been achieved. It gives me immense pleasure that the project I initiated was successful.”

What was the atmosphere in the TU Delft faculty like?
“The relationship between colleagues is excellent. Everyone is very conscious if somebody is not Dutch, even at the lunch table. In Delft, there was no running around looking for promotions. The atmosphere was quite relaxed. The researchers work hard to get patents, not just to publish some academic papers.”

What about the teacher-student interaction?
“We had students all over the world – Britain, China, Brazil, Portugal, Turkey and so on. I really appreciated the international atmosphere, as there is much to learn from everybody.”

Is there are any significant differences between the students at TU Delft and those at Bhabha?
“The students at TU Delft are very interactive, and they would closely observe my lectures and study them and then give me feedback. Personally, I felt the BSc level is higher at TU Delft than in India, and this makes a big difference, as it gives students the opportunity to do research at an early age.”

Is there any collaboration now between TU Delft and Bhabha?
“Right now there is not, but in future I would like to send some students to do postdoctoral research at TU Delft.
There is an Indo-Holland exchange program however, so I’m currently talking to the administrations about setting this up.”

Why is it that more Indian students go to study in the US, instead of at universities in Europe?
“Indian students have more opportunities in US than in Europe. Sometimes they think of Europe as a whole, and they have the perception that language can be a barrier, which I personally didn’t find in the Netherlands, as everybody spoke English quite well.”

How might TU Delft go about attracting more of India’s best young students?
“I’ve seen advertisements and big posters from some good US universities in the Indian Institutes of Technology and at other good institutes in India, which I never saw from any European university. So, a bit of campaigning is required from TU Delft, such as advertising and contacting professors in India directly.”

Recently TU Delft’s international university ranking went from 63 to 78 internationally. How do you think TU Delft raise its standard?
“TU Delft doesn’t do fundamental research. Whatever research that is done here is done for the benefit of society at large, so we should not compare TU Delft with all other universities. If you want make a comparison, then we should only compare TU Delft with other universities of technology that conduct applied research.”

If you could change something about TU Delft, what would it be?
“I think eight working hours per day is insufficient. After about 6 p.m., the university buildings and laboratories close and students and staff can no longer work. I think the university should be more flexible about keeping the faculties open until later in the evening.”

Would you like to come back to teach and work at TU Delft again?
“Yes, surely, it was a nice experience. If I could come every two or three months in a year to teach, that would be great.”