Joep Evers (Wiskunde & Informatica) modelleerde de dynamiek van menigten met een innovatieve multiscale-aanpak. Kris Zych (Design and Technology of Instrumentation) ontwierp makkelijk te gebruiken apparatuur om de productie in de baggerindustrie te meten. En Job Beckers (Technische Natuurkunde) verrichte innovatief onderzoek naar de vorming van stofdeeltjes in plasma's. (Een meer uitgebreide Engelse toelichting staat onder dit artikel).

De prijsceremonie was dit jaar een onderdeel van de Dutch Technology Week. Een week waarin de technologische innovaties worden getoond die hun oorsprong vinden in de Brainport regio Eindhoven. Volgens Hans van Duijn tonen de genomineerden met hun projecten dat het onderwijs en onderzoek op de TU/e bijdragen aan de oplossing van grote maatschappelijke problemen, zoals energie, gezondheidzorg en slimme mobiliteit.

Een groot deel van de onderzoeksprojecten zijn uitgevoerd in samenwerking met bedrijven en instellingen. "De nauwe banden in Brainport regio Eindhoven tussen het bedrijfsleven, de overheid en de wetenschap tonen daarmee wederom hun toegevoegde waarde", aldus Van Duijn. (FvO)

Uit het juryrapport:

Joep Evers
'Modeling Crowd Dynamics: a Multiscale, Measure-theoretical Approach'

The collective motion of individuals, for instance flocks of birds or human crowds, is a fascinating phenomenon. Joep Evers has used a recently developed two-scale modeling approach to take into account the individual driving forces at the microscopic scale and external forces exerted on groups at the macroscopic scale. He then extended this model with elements borrowed from the theory of mixtures in fluid mechanics. With this innovative approach Joep surprised the jury in a very positive way. In his well written thesis he presents model-based simulations of the behavior of pedestrians moving in opposite directions in a narrow hallway.

Kris Zych
'RF Density Meter'

Kris has done his design project at IHC Merwede, market leader in the development and manufacturing of dredging equipment. For dredging, two parameters are crucial for the production: the slurry density and the flow velocity. It is common practice in industry to measure these parameters with a radioactive emitter/transmitter system. Kris has developed a radiofrequency (RF) system that is easier to transport and that doesn't require highly qualified personnel. Hence more cost effective. The system has a high accuracy, it is robust and ready for tests on board of a real cutter-dredger. The jury characterizes Kris' work as a beautiful combination of theory and practice. Very analytically he breaks up complex problems into smaller manageable pieces.

Job Beckers
'Dust particle diagnostics in plasmas'

The thesis of Job Beckers concerns so called dusty plasmas: complex plasmas containing dust particles. These are present in various plasma processes in the semiconductor or solar cell industry. His research followed two directions: the formation of dust particles in plasmas and the use of those dust particles to diagnose the plasmas. In an interesting twist, Job challenged gravity for his experiments. He did this by placing a plasma reactor in a centrifuge for higher gravity, and on an Airbus 300 in parabolic flight for zero gravity. Job has developed very elegant models to explain his experimental data, by which he was able to unravel properties of plasmas that up till now could not be studied directly. The jury was impressed by the fine combination of innovative experiments with analytical modeling. An additional strong point is that Job Beckers succeeds in describing his research in a way that is appealing to non-specialists as well.