NWO's brand new technology festival TEKNOWLOGY provided the backdrop for the award ceremonies. The festival celebrates the symbiosis between technology, science and innovation. The programme included various (international) speakers, lectures and workshops, as well as inspiring examples of research from the NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Science (hereafter AES).
Open Mind
With Open Mind NWO challenges scientists to think out of the box. The research that the winners can start thanks to the funding must be completed within a year. A jury, led by Professor Jantien Stoter, selected the winners.
Protecting video privacy
Professor Martha Larson (Radboud University) won an Open Mind grant with her proposal to develop software to make online videos more privacy-friendly. The software should detect information in videos that is not relevant, but does reveal a lot about the maker of the video. The software then removes that information from the video.
No more one-day wonders
Prof.dr.ir. Wiendelt Steenbergen (University of Twente) won an Open Mind grant for his idea to determine the gender of chicken embryos at a very early stage while they are still in the egg. The method could prevent millions of cockerels being born in the chicken industry every year. They are killed almost immediately because only hens are commercially attractive.
Breeding ground for seaweed
The third Open Mind grant goes to Alexander Ebbing (NIOZ). He proposes to develop artificial nurseries for seaweed. These could prepare seaweed cultivation for the production of large quantities of biomass in an energy and environment-saving manner.
Iron powder as energy carrier
The fourth winner is the Solid student team (Eindhoven University of Technology). They propose to use iron powder as a carrier of green energy. The team wants to work on a technique that uses green energy to convert rust particles into iron powder. This powder can then be oxidised into rust, releasing the stored energy.
Measuring underdeveloped lungs in premature babies
Gert Weijers and Freke Wilmink have received an Open Mind grant for a technique that uses ultrasound to determine how fully developed the lungs of premature babies are. Underdeveloped lungs are the most common complication in premature babies. The technique is non-invasive and can save the lives of many premature babies.
Simon Stevin Gezel
The visitors of TEKNOWLOGY elected Floris van den Brink as Simon Stevin Gezel 2017. Since 2005, the title has been awarded annually to a promising researcher who recently obtained a PhD in a AES study. In addition, the researcher successfully works on the valorisation of research results. In addition to the title, Floris van den Brink receives a cash prize of 5,000 euros.
Van den Brink developed an electrochemical microreactor with which the conversion of medicines in the human body can be simulated. An example is the processing of paracetamol by the liver. The microreactor is also suitable for cutting up complex mixtures of proteins. This is necessary in order to accurately identify the proteins with highly sensitive measuring equipment. Up until now, the splitting has usually been done using enzymes, which is relatively time-consuming. In the microreactor, this can be done electrochemically: it is much faster and highly efficient. Van den Brink carried out his PhD research at the University of Twente.
Simon Stevin Meester
During TEKNOWLOGY, Prof. Andrew Webb was appointed the 2017 Simon Stevin Meester. He received an amount of 500,000 euros from NWO. With this amount, Webb focuses on the development of new MRI techniques with which you can detect diseases at a much earlier stage. He is also developing mobile MRI scanners for use in developing countries. The prize was presented by AES Chairman Jaap Schouten and Nora van der Wende, Director of Research and Science Policy at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
The Simon Stevin Prizes are named after physicist, mathematician and engineer Simon Stevin (1548-1620). Stevin grew into a highly successful scientist who not only had an eye for theory, but also thought about practical applications.
