Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology

Technische Universiteit Delft
Former names	Koninklijke Akademie van Delft Polytechnische School van Delft Technische Hoogeschool van Delft
Motto in English	Challenge the Future
Type	Public,technical
Established	1842(1842)
Budget	€985.7 million (2023)
President	(Tim) van der Hagen
Rector	(Tim) van der Hagen
Academic staff	4,461 (including 1,353 faculty members of all ranks, 29.9% female, 49.6% international, full-time equivalents in 2023)
Administrative staff	2,804 (2023)
Students	26,417 (2023)
Undergraduates	13,568 (2023)
Postgraduates	12,316 (2023)
Doctoral students	3,327 (2023)
Location	Delft , The Netherlands 52°0′6″N4°22′21″E
Campus	Urban (university town)
Colors	Cyan,blackandwhite
Affiliations	IDEA Climate-KIC CESAER EUA 4TU UNITECH SEFI SAE TPC ATHENS PEGASUS ENHANCE Alliance
Website	tudelft.nl/en/

TheDelft University of Technology(TU Delft;Dutch:Technische Universiteit Delft) is the oldest and largest Dutchpublictechnical university,located inDelft,The Netherlands.It specializes inengineering,technology,computing,design,andnatural sciences.

With eightfacultiesand multipleresearch institutes,TU Delft educates more than 26,000 students (undergraduateandpostgraduate), and employs more than 3,000doctoralcandidates and 4,000 teaching, research, support and management staff (including more than 1,300 faculty members of all ranks).

The university was established on 8 January 1842 by KingWilliam IIas a royal academy, with the primary purpose of trainingcivil servantsfor work in theDutch East Indies.The school expanded its research and education curriculum over time, becoming a polytechnic school in 1864 and an institute of technology (making it a full-fledged university) in 1905. It changed its name to Delft University of Technology in 1986.

DutchNobel laureatesJacobus Henricus van 't Hoff,Heike Kamerlingh Onnes,andSimon van der Meerhave been associated with TU Delft. TU Delft is a member of several university federations, including theIDEA League,CESAER,UNITECH International,ENHANCE Alliance, LDE, and4TU.

History

Main article:History of the Delft University of Technology

Royal Academy (1842–1864)

William II of the Netherlands,founder of Royal Academy in Delft.

Delft University of Technology was founded on 8 January 1842 byWilliam II of the NetherlandsasRoyal Academy for the education of civilian engineers, for serving both nation and industry, and of apprentices for trade.One of the purposes of the academy was to educatecivil servantsfor the colonies of theDutch East India Company.The first director of the academy was Antoine Lipkens, constructor of the first Dutchoptical telegraph,called simply as Lipkens. Royal Academy had its first building located at Oude Delft 95 in Delft. On 23 May 1863 an Act was passed imposing regulations on technical education in the Netherlands, bringing it under the rules ofsecondary education.

Polytechnic School (1864–1905)

On 20 June 1864, Royal Academy in Delft was disbanded by a Royal Decree, giving a way to aPolytechnic School of Delft(Politechnische School te Delft). The newly formed school educatedengineersof various fields and architects, much needed during the rapidindustrialization periodin the 19th century.

Institute of Technology (1905–1986)

Yet another Act, passed on 22 May 1905, changed the name of the school toTechnical College (Institute) of Delft(Technische Hoogeschool Delft,from 1934Technische Hogeschool Delft), emphasizing the academic quality of the education. Polytechnic was granted university rights and was allowed to award academic degrees. The number of students reached 450 around that time. The official opening of the new school was attended by QueenWilhelminaon 10 July 1905. Firstdeanof the newly established college wasir.J. Kraus,hydraulic engineer.In 1905, the first doctoral degree was awarded.From 1924 until the construction of the new campus in 1966, the ceremonies were held in theSaint Hippolytus Chapel.

Corporate rightswere granted to the college on 7 June 1956. Most of the university buildings during that time were located within Delft city centre, with some of the buildings set on the side of the riverSchie,in the Wippolder district.

Student organizations grew together with the university. The first to be established on 22 March 1848 is theDelftsch Studenten Corpshoused in the distinctiveSociëteit Phoenixon the Phoenixstraat. This was followed by theDelftsche Studenten Bond(est. 30 October 1897) and theKSV Sanctus Virgilius(est. 2 March 1898). In 1917,Proof Garden for Technical Plantation(Dutch:Cultuurtuin voor Technische Gewassen) was established byGerrit van Iterson,which today is known as Botanical Garden of TU Delft. In that period, a first female professor, Toos Korvezee, was appointed.

Delft University of Technology (1986–present)

After the end of World War II, TU Delft increased its rapid academic expansion.Studium Generalewas established at all universities in the Netherlands, including TU Delft, to promote a free and accessible knowledge related to culture, technology, society and science. Because of the increasing number of students, in 1974 the firstReception Week for First Year Students(Ontvangst Week voor Eerstejaars Studenten,OWEE) was established, which has become a TU Delft tradition since then.

On 1 September 1986, the Delft Institute of Technology officially changed its name to Delft University of Technology, underlining the quality of the education and research provided by the institution. In the course of further expansion, in 1987 Delft Top Techinstitute was established, which provided a professional master education in management for people working in technology-related companies. On 1 September 1997, the 13 faculties of the TU Delft were merged into 9, to improve the management efficiency of the growing university. In the early 1990s, because the vast majority of the students of the university were male, an initiative to increase the number of female students resulted in founding a separateemancipationcommission. As a result,Girls Study Technology(Meiden studeren techniek) days were established. In later years the responsibilities of the commission were distributed over multiple institutes.

Since 2006 all buildings of the university are located outside of the historical city center of Delft. The relatively new building ofMaterial Sciencesdepartment was sold, later demolished in 2007 to give place for a newly built building of theHaagse Hogeschool.Closer cooperation between TU Delft and Dutch universities of applied sciences resulted in physical transition of some of the institutes from outside to Delft. In September 2009 manyinstitutes of applied sciencesfromthe Hagueregion as well as Institute of Applied Sciences in Rijswijk, transferred to Delft, close to the location of the university, at the square between Rotterdamseweg and Leeghwaterstraat.

In 2007 the three Dutch technical universities, TU Delft,TU EindhovenandUniversity of Twente,established afederation,called3TU.

On 13 May 2008, the building of theFaculty of Architecturewas destroyed by fire, presumed caused by a short circuit in acoffee machinedue to a ruptured water pipe. Luckily, the architecture library, containing several thousands of books and maps, as well as many architecture models, including chairs byGerrit RietveldandLe Corbusier,were saved. The Faculty of Architecture is currently housed in the university's former main building.

Logo

Through the course of the years thelogoof the TU Delft changed a number of times, along with its official name. The current logo is based on the three university colors cyan, black and white.The letter "T" bears a stylized flame on top, referring to the flame thatPrometheusbrought fromMount Olympusto the people, against the will ofZeus.Because of this, Prometheus is sometimes considered as the first engineer, and is an important symbol for the university. His statue stood in the center of the newly renovated TU Delft campus, Mekelpark, until it was stolen in 2012.

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 of Delft was the university library, which was relocated to a new building in 1997. On 12 September 2006, the design of the new university neighbourhood, 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 new park replaced the main access road and redirected car traffic around the campus, making the newly created park a safer place for bicycles and pedestrians.

Mekelpark

Entrance to the Mekelpark, with the statue ofPrometheus,university's symbol.

A new university neighborhood called Mekelpark (its name commemorating TH Delft professor and WW II resistance fighter, Jan Mekel, who was executed by the Nazis on 2 May 1942 inSachsenhausen) was opened on 5 July 2009. Mekelpark replaced old parking structures, bike lanes andfilling stations,constructed between faculty buildings of the university in the late 1950s. Its 832-meter-long promenade eased the commute between faculty buildings. Both sides of the promenade are covered by stone benches, 1547 meters long in total.Some of the university buildings around the Mekelpark deserve certain attention.

Aula

TU Delft Aula

TU DelftAulawas designed by Van den Broek en Bakema architecture bureau, founded by two TU Delft alumniJo van den BroekandJaap Bakema.It was officially opened on 6 January 1966 by Dutch Prime MinisterJo Cals. It is a classical example of a structure built inBrutaliststyle. TU Delft Aula, which symbolically opens the Mekelpark, houses main university restaurant and store, as well aslecture halls,auditoria,congress center, and administrative offices of the university. Alldoctoral promotion,honoris causaceremonies, as well asacademic senatemeetings take place in the Aula.

Library

Main article:TU Delft Library

TU Delft Library

The TU Delft Library, constructed in 1997, was designed by Delft-basedMecanooarchitecture bureau. It is located behind universityaula.The roof of the library is covered with grass, which serves as a natural insulation. The structure lifts from the ground on one side allowing to walk to the top of the building. The library is topped by the steel cone, giving its unique shape. All the walls are completely filled with glass. The library won the DutchNational Steel Prizein 1998 in thebuildings of steel and hybrid constructionscategory. The library is also host of the 4TU.Centre for Research Data, the archive for research data in the technical sciences in the Netherlands.

Cultural and Sports Center

The TU Delft Sports and Culture Center, recently renamed X, is located at Mekelweg 10, at the edge of the Mekelpark. It was designed by architect Vera Yanovshtchinsky and opened to TU Delft students and staff in 1995. Since then it has undergone expansions and renovations.

TU Delft Musea

Three musea are associated with the university: Science Centre Delft,Mineralogy-geology museum andBeijerinckenKluyverarchive.

Science Centre Delft was opened in September 2010 and is located at Mijnbouwstraat 120 in Delft. Science Center Delft is a successor of Technical Exhibition Center.Technical Exhibition Center was established by a group of TU Delft professors with the aim of presenting the recent advances in technology to a wider audience. Parts of the collection were shown outside of Delft: in the Netherlands and abroad, includingIsraelandCzech Republic.The collection was permanently hosted in the building of former department ofgeodesy.The historical collections of Technical Exhibition Center were moved Delft Museum of Technology, located at Ezelsveldlaan, in the buildings of the former department ofnaval architecture(Werktuig- en Scheepsbouwkunde), next to the city center of Delft. As Delft city council together with TU Delft decided to move the collection close to the university campus (currently the building of the former museum are transformed intolofts), Science Centre Delft shows visitors current TU Delft research projects are available, includingEco RunnerandNuna.

BeijerinckenKluyverarchive hosts a collection of documents, exhibits and memorabilia of two scientists historically connected with the university.

Mineralogy-geology museum is a part of TU Delft Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences and contains around 200,000geological,mineralogicalandcrystallographicalitems divided into numerous sub-collections. The oldest items date back to 1842 when the TU Delft (thenDelft Royal Academy) was established.

Botanical garden

TU Delftbotanical gardendates back to 1917, whereProof Garden for Technical Plantation(Dutch:Cultuurtuin voor Technische Gewassen) was established by Gerrit van Iterson Jr., TU Delft graduate and assistant toMartinus Beijerinck.Gerrit van Iterson Jr. was the first director of the garden until 1948. Creation of botanical gardens at TU Delft was partially a result of the increasing needs of systematized development oftropical agriculturein then Dutch colony ofDutch East Indies.Over 7000 different species of plants, includingtropicalandsubtropicalplants,herbs,andornamental plantscover the area of almost 2.5 ha.Furthermore, more than 2000 unique species are preserved in university'sgreenhouses.All facilities of TU Delft botanical garden are open to the public.

Building 28

TU Delft Building 28 (Computer Science)

Building 28 is the main building of Computer Science on campus. It hosts research groups of Intelligent Systems and Software Technology departments, educational and research labs, student study areas, meeting rooms, and the support staff of Computer Science.

Echo (Building 29)

TU Delft Echo building

Along with Delft,UNStudiodeveloped the 'Echo' building on the TU campus for interfaculty lecture halls and project rooms, student study areas, Computer Science (Cybersecurity section and Sequential Decision Making section) research offices, and meeting rooms. It is an energy-producing building within the campus of Delft which aims at energy conservation to delve into the future.Echo won the prestigious World Prix Versailles (Campuses category) in 2023.

TU Delft | The Hague

TU Delft campus at Turfmarkt 99 in The Hague. This building is shared withLeiden University.

In September 2016, TU Delft inaugurated a new campus inThe Hague.The MSc programme Engineering and Policy Analysis (EPA), which teaches students to operate at the intersection of technology and policy when tacklingwicked problems,was relocated to this new site to capitalize on its proximity to government ministries, international bodies, and multinational organizations.

TU Delft operates the 5th floor of the Wijnhaven Building at Turfmarkt 99 in The Hague, with the rest of the building being occupied byLeiden University.Originally theMinistry of the Interior's headquarters at Schedeldoekshaven 200, the Wijnhaven Building, named after the historicWijnhavenkwartier,was converted intoCampus The Haguein 2016.

In 2023, TU Delft announced plans to further expand its footprint in The Hague by launching a joint university facility with Leiden University atSpui,set to open in 2025.This new location is expected to accommodate around 600 TU Delft students in the city centre of The Hague.

Faculties

TU Delft comprises eight faculties.These are (official Dutch name and faculty abbreviation are given in brackets; departments by faculty are listed):

• Aerospace Engineering(AE) (Luchtvaart- en Ruimtevaarttechniek (LR))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

  • Aerodynamics, Flight Performance and Propulsion & Wind Energy
  • Aerospace Structures & Materials
  • Control & operations
  • Space Engineering

• Applied Sciences (AS) (Technische Natuurwetenschappen (TNW))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Applied Sciences

  • Bionanoscience
  • Biotechnology
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Imaging Physics
  • Quantum Nanoscience
  • Radiation Science & Technology
  • Science Education and Communication

• Architecture and the Built Environment(Bouwkunde (BK))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

  • Architecture
  • Architectural Engineering & Technology
  • Management in the Built Environment
  • Urbanism

• Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) (Civiele Techniek en Geowetenschappen (CiTG))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

  • Engineering Structures
  • Geoscience & Engineering
  • Geoscience & Remote Sensing
  • Hydraulic Engineering
  • Materials, Mechanics, Management & Design (3Md)
  • Transport & Planning
  • Water Management

• Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) (Elektrotechniek, Wiskunde en Informatica (EWI))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical Sustainable Energy
  • Intelligent Systems
  • Microelectronics
  • Quantum & Computer Engineering
  • Software Technology

• Industrial Design Engineering(IDE) (Industrieel Ontwerpen (IO))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering

  • Sustainable Design Engineering
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Design, Organisation and Strategy

• Mechanical Engineering (ME) (Mechanical Engineering (ME);previous name:Werktuigbouwkunde, Maritieme Techniek en Technische Materiaal Wetenschappen (3mE))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

  • Biomechanical Engineering
  • Cognitive Robotics
  • Maritime & Transport Tech
  • Materials Science & Engineering
  • Precision & Microsystems Engineering
  • Process & Energy
  • Systems & Control

• Technology, Policy and Management(TPM) (Techniek, Bestuur en Management (TBM))

  

  TU Delft Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

  • Engineering Systems & Services
  • Multi Actor Systems
  • Values, Technology & Innovation

There are also two Research Institutes:

• QuTech
  • Qubit Research
  • Quantum Computing
  • Quantum Internet

• TU Delft Reactor Institute

• 
  Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science viewed from the Civil Engineering department

Education

Since 2004, the TU Delft education system is divided into three tiers: thebachelor's degree,master's degree,anddoctorate.The academic year is divided into two semesters: the first semester from September until January and the second semester from the end of January until July. Most of the lectures are available throughOpenCourseWare.

Bachelor-level studies

As of 2016,TU Delft offers 16BScprogrammes.TU Delft students obtain their degree after a three-year study. The test project finalizes the BSc studies. All BSc programmes are taught in Dutch, except forAerospace Engineering,Applied Earth Sciences, Nanobiology, and Computer Science, which are taught entirely in English, and Electrical Engineering which is taught in a mixture of both.

Master-level studies

TU Delft offers around 40MScprogrammes.The MSc studies take two years to complete.

TU Delft uses theEuropean Credit Transfer System,where each year MSc students are required to obtain 60 ECTS points. An honours track exists for motivated MSc students, who obtained a mark of 7.5 or higher (inDutch grading scale) and did not fail any courses. This track, associated with 30 ECTS points, is taken alongside the regular MSc programme and must be related to student's regular degree courses or the role oftechnology in society.The honours track must be completed within the time allowed for the MSc programme.

MSc programmes are also offered through the3TUfederation,Erasmus Mundusprogrammes,IDEA Leaguejoint MSc programs and QuTech Academy.

Doctoral-level studies

Typical photo following adoctoral defenseat Delft University of Technology. Thepromovendus(center) is accompanied by twoparanymphs.Thepedelis on the left, holding thestaff.The red tube holds the doctoral diploma. Thepromovendus,as well as the paranymphs, must wear white ties, while all professors in the defense committee weartogas.

Doctoral studiesat TU Delft are divided into two phases. The first phase, lasting one year, serves as a trial period during which the doctoral candidate must prove capability for performing research on a doctoral level. The candidate must pass the evaluation performed at the end of the year by his/her promoter in order to continue doing research the following three years. The research the candidate performs must be finalized by submitting adoctoral thesis.The thesis is evaluated by a doctoral committee composed of TU Delft professors and external opponents. Once the thesis has been revised and comments have been taken into account, the candidate gives a formal doctoral defense.

In contrast to US graduate school, other duties such as following lectures and giving TAs form only a small portion of the programme.

Doctoral defense

Thedoctoral defenseis of ceremonial nature and is held in the senate room. It lasts exactly one hour, during which the doctoral candidate must answer all questions from the committee. Sometimes the candidate is accompanied by one or twoparanymphs,who theoretically might help defend a question asked by a committee member. The defense is ended by thepedel,who enters the room and says in LatinHora est(It is time), stamping the universitystaffon the floor. The committee then moves to a separate room to decide whether to grant the candidate a doctorate or not. Then the committee returns to the room where the defense was held, and if the doctorate is granted the promoter presents thelaudationpraising the newdoctor.The entire ceremony is chaired by therectoror a representative.

Other degree programmes

TU Delft also offersProfessional Doctorate in Engineering.

Organization

Research Institutes

TU Delft has three officially recognizedresearch institutes:Research Institute for the Built Environment,International Research Centre for Telecommunications-transmission and Radar,andReactor Institute Delft.In addition to those three institutes, TU Delft hosts numerous smaller research institutes, including the Delft Institute of Microelectronics and Submicron Technology,Kavli Institute of Nanoscience,Materials innovation institute,Astrodynamics and Space Missions,Delft University Wind Energy Research Institute, TU Delft Safety and Security Institute,and the Delft Space Institute,Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics is also an important research institute which connects all engineering departments with respect to research and academia. A complete list of research schools is available on TU Delft website.

Research schools

Important part ofDutch university systemare research schools. They combine education, training and research for PhD candidates andpostdoctoral researchersin a given field. The main goal of the research schools is to coordinate nationwide research programs in a given area. Research schools of TU Delft cooperate with other universities in the Netherlands. Research schools are required to have anaccreditationofRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.TU Delft is taking the lead in ten research schools, and participates in nine. The full list of research schools affiliated with TU Delft is available on TU Delft website,see for exampleTRAIL Research School.

Media

During anacademic yearthe TU Delft publishes a weekly magazine:Delta,which aims at the student and employee community of the university. The newspaper is predominantly in Dutch, with the last few pages published in English.TU Deltais distributed freely in paper form over the campus and is also available for free on the Internet. Articles focus mainly on current university affairs and student life. The weekly agenda including PhD promotions, inaugural lectures, etc. is also published therein.

Also, approximately four times a year, the TU Delft publishes a magazine devoted only to research conducted by the university, calledDelft Outlook.Delft Outlookis published in English, while the same content is published in Dutch inDelft Integraalmagazine. Both magazines present interviews with TU Delft researchers, university officials.Columnsby some university professors are published therein, as well as alumni letters and excerpts from recently published PhD theses.

Management

Main article:List of rectores magnifici of the Delft University of Technology

TU Delft is governed by theexecutive board(College van Bestuur),controlled and advised bystudent council,workers council,board of professors, board of doctorates, assistant staff office, committee for the application of the allocation model, operational committee, advisory council for quality and accreditation,deansof each TU Delftfaculty,and directors of TU Delftresearch centers,research schools andresearch institutes.

Executive board is chaired academically by theRector Magnificus.The currently appointed Rector Magnificus, Tim van der Hagen, has held the position since 2018.He replaced Prof. Ir. Karel Ch.A.M. Luybenwho was rector for the period 2010 to 2018. Previous Rectors of TU Delft include Prof. K.F. Wakker (1993–1997 and 1998–2002), Prof. J. Blauwendraad (1997–1998) and Prof. J.T. Fokkema (2002–2010). Executive board is accountable to theSupervisory Board,appointed by theMinister of Education, Culture and Science.One of the many tasks of executive board is the approval of management regulations.

Board of professors advises in the matter of academic quality, deciding on the selection of guest lecturers,research fellowsas well as revising proposals submitted for royal honors for professors. Board of doctorates appoints supervisors forPhDstudents, forms promotion committees, determines promotional code, and confers PhD and doctorateHonoris Causadegrees. Committee for the application of the allocation model reports to the executive board regarding allocation model. Further, it controls output data supplied to the executive board. Operational committee is composed of members of the executive board and thes.The committee collaborates on the issues of general importance, related in part to the specific interests of the faculties, and strengthens the unity of the university overall.

Student life

Student life at TU Delft is organized around numerousstudent societiesandcorporations.They can be generally categorized intoprofessional societies,social societies and sport societies. More than half of TU Delft students belong to an officially recognized society^[1].

Building of theKoornbeurs Societyin the old town of Delft.

There are two student parties at TU Delft: ORAS(Organisatie Rationele Studenten) and Lijst Bèta (successor of AAG).AAG (Afdeling Actie Groepen) started as an action group of students in the 1960s, willing to have more impact on the quality of education at the then Polytechnic Institute Delft. ORAS became active in the early 1970s as a counterbalance to AAG. After already taking a break from the yearly elections in 2008, AAG did not participate anymore in the elections of 2010 due to disappointing results.In 2011, a new party was established, Lijst Bèta, that got 2 out of the 10 seats in the student counsil.Since then, Lijst Bèta and ORAS compete each year for seats in TU Delft's Students Council (Studenten Raad). Further, all student organizations of TU Delft are associated with The Council of Student Societies Delft VeRa (De VerenigingsRaad) and The Society for Study and Student Matters Delft VSSD (Vereniging voor Studie- en Studentenbelangen Delft).

Apart frombachelorandmasterstudent organizations,PhDstudents of TU Delft have their own organization called Promood (PhD Students Discussion Group Delft) (Promovendi Overleg Delft), which represents TU Delft PhD students at the university. It is also a member of Dutch PhD Students Network (Promovendi Netwerk Nederland).

Each faculty of TU Delft has its own set of professional student organizations. Numerous societies are present at the university,many of them with rich traditions, customs and history. For example,aerospace engineeringdepartment hostsFoundation for Students in Airplane Development, Manufacturing and Management(Stichting Studenten Vliegtuigontwikkeling, -bouw en -beheer), whilecivil engineeringdepartmentSociety for Practical Studies.International professional student organizations are also present at TU Delft, includingEuropean Association of Aerospace Students.

Apart from professional student societies, students organize themselves only for the purpose of enriching their social life. Many of the societies have sectarian roots, like aCatholicWolbodo Student Society,Katholieke Studentenvereniging Sanctus Virgilius Delft,that during the course of the years lost the religious affiliations and accepts students from any denomination. Besides societies which have their roots in religion, there are also general (with no religious bonds) societies. One of these isSint Jansbrug.These societies accept anyone who studies at the TU Delft or any other higher education facility in the Delft area. Also organization that has its roots inRover ScoutmovementDelftsche Zwervers(at the same time the oldest student scouting group in the world) is present or local branch of the EuropeanAEGEE.

Student sports are organized around clubs, that focus mostly on single discipline. Those include rowing societyD.S.R.V. Lagaand rowing clubProteus-Eretes(both with manyOlympic medalswon by the members of the club) orAmerican footballclubDelft Dragons.

Research

Nuna 5,from a series ofNunasolar-poweredcars that won theWorld Solar Challengeseven times, constructed by the students of TU Delft.

DUT12, the twelfth car of theFormula Studentteam Delft (DUT Racing). Held the Guinness World Record for fastest accelerating electric vehicle in the world.

TU Delft researchers developed many new technologies used today, includingGLARE,afibre metal laminateused inAirbus A380skinand Vision in Product Design design method.Cees Dekker's lab at TU Delft demonstrated in 1998 the firsttransistormade out of singlenanotube molecule.TheDelta Worksplan was, in part, a child of TU Delft graduates, includingJohan Ringersand Victor de Blocq van Kuffeler. TU Delft was a precursor of theOpen designconcept.

In architecture, TU Delft is famous forTraditionalist Schoolin Dutch architecture. TU Delft was a home to many prominentmicrobiologistsincludingMartinus Beijerinck,who in 1898 discovered viruses while working at TU Delft, andAlbert Kluyver,father of comparative microbiology, which resulted in the creation of so-called Delft School of Microbiology.

Some recent projects being developed at the university include:

Vehicles

• Superbus,project aiming to design a high speed bus reaching top speeds of 250 km/h;
• Nuna,solar-poweredrace carand six times winner of theWorld Solar Challenge;
• TU Delft Solar Boat Team,solar-poweredboatthat 'flies' using hydrofoils;
• DUT Racing,electricalFormula Studentproject having won multiple competitions and at one point held the Guinness World Record for fastest accelerating electric vehicle;
• Project MARCH,a student team building an exoskeleton for paraplegics and participating as the first Dutch exoskeleton team at theCybathlon.
• DelFly,Micro air vehicleand the smallestornithopterso far fitted with a camera;
• Nova Electric Racing,electric motorcycle team and winner of MotoE 2017;
• Fhybrid, world's firsthydrogen-poweredscooter;
• Forze,hydrogen fuel cell-powered racing car;
• Eco-Runnervehicle participating inEco-marathon;

Other

• Flame,first humanoid robot possessing the ability to walk as humans;
• Somnox Sleep Robotan automatically-breathing capsule-shaped robot starting prototyping in 2015.
• Kitepower,converting wind energy into electricity usingkites;
• Tribler,anopen sourcepeer-to-peerclientwithonline TVfunctionalities;
• Nix package managerandNixOS,an open source functional package manager and a Linux distribution based upon it;
• Delfi-C3,CubeSatsatelliteconstructed by TU Delft students, and theDelfi-n3Xtlaunched 21 October 2013;
• Stratos II+, asounding rocketdeveloped byDelft Aerospace Rocket Engineeringwhich in October 2015 broke the European altitude record achieved by amateur rockets by reaching an altitude of 21,457 meters;
• Glaciogenic Reservoir Analogue Studies Project(GRASP)
• The Ocean Cleanup,a project aimed at developing a method of cleaning up theoceanic garbage patches;
• as well as iGEM TU Delft, a student team competing in the largest international student competition in synthetic biology, where they became Grand Prize winners in 2015 and 2017.
• Quantum computing,topological insulatorsand applications

People

Students

The majority of TU Delft's students are male. In 2021, among all students of the university (MScandBSclevel) 30% were women. The biggest imbalance between men and women is seen in theMechanical engineeringfaculty, while the smallest is seen atIndustrial DesignandArchitecturedepartments.Despite many efforts of the university to change that imbalance, the number of women studying at TU Delft has stayed relatively constant over the years.

TU Delft student body demographics

	2009	2022
PhDStudents (total)	2,027	3,144
PhDStudents (men)	1,474	2,135
PhDStudents (women)	547	1,007
MSc and BSc students (total)	16,427	26,658
MSc and BSc students (foreign)	2,236	6,821
MSc and BSc students (women)	3,351	8,248
BSc students (total)	10,857	13,782
MSc students (total)	5,524	12,876
Student Population	18,454	27,080

Since 2002, the number of students admitted to TU Delft has increased rapidly (from approximately 2,200 in 2002 to almost 3,700 in 2009).The same applies to the total student population (from approximately 13,250 in 2002 to almost 16,500 in 2009).In 2022, nearly 27 thousand students were enrolled.

The number of international students has also increased steadily.In 2021, 29% of all students at TU Delft came from abroad; nearly three quarters of those came from Europe.The largest proportion of international students at TU Delft in 2022 come from China (14%), followed by India (11.4%) and Belgium (7.4%). The faculties with the highest percentage number of international students study atAerospace Engineering(46%) andElectrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science(38%).

Due to TU Delft's presence, the city of Delft has one of the biggest populations ofIraniansin the Netherlands. It resulted in one of the biggest Iranian protests against the Iranian government in Europe,with many protests organized at TU Delft campus by Iranian TU Delft students during2009 Iranian Election Protests.

Faculty

Main article:List of the Delft University of Technology Faculty

As of 2015,TU Delft is a home to 437 faculty, with more than 3,375 academic staff.The responsibility of TU Delft professors is lecturing, guiding undergraduate and graduate students, as well as performing original research in their respective fields.

Many notable people were TU Delft faculty. In science,Heike Kamerlingh Onnes,a 1913Nobel Laureateinphysics,a discoverer ofsuperconductivity,was a former TU Delft faculty member, working as an assistant toJohannes Bosscha.Discoverer of thePrins reactionHendrik Jacobus Prins, co-founders ofNational Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer ScienceHendrik Anthony KramersandDavid van Dantzig,developer of theiodide processJan Hendrik de Boer,discoverer of theparticle spinRalph Kronig,discoverer of theEinstein–de Haas effectWander Johannes de Haasand discoverer ofhafniumDirk Coster,all were at some point the faculty members of the university. Faculty members of Delft School of Microbiology were the founder of modern microbiologyMartinus Beijerinckand the father of comparative microbiologyAlbert Kluyver.

• 
  Heike Kamerlingh Onnes,
  discoverer ofsuperconductivity,TU Delft faculty 1878-1882
• 
  Martinus Beijerinck,
  father ofvirology,TU Delft faculty 1895-1921
• 
  Ralph Kronig,
  discoverer ofparticle spin,TU Delft faculty 1939-1969
• 
  Simon van der Meer,
  Dutch physicist and Winner of Nobel Prize in Physics-1984, TU Delft Student 1950-1952

In engineering, the inventor ofpenthodeandgyratorBernard TellegenandBalthasar van der Poldeveloper ofVan der Pol oscillator,were TU Delft faculty. CurrentlyVic Hayes,and the father ofWi-Fi,is affiliated with theFaculty of Technology, Policy and Management.STS-61Aof theSpace Shuttle Challengercrew memberWubbo Ockelswas professor ofFaculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology.TU Delft faculty geologist wereBerend George Escher,Johannes Herman Frederik Umbgrove,discoverer ofBushveld complexGustaaf Adolf Frederik Molengraaffand discoverer of gravity anomalies above the sea levelFelix Andries Vening Meinesz.

Since TU Delft is a home to amajor architecture schoolin the Netherlands, many important architects were a faculty of the university, including Hein de Haan, founder ofTraditionalist SchoolinArchitectureMarinus Jan Granpré Molière,Bent Flyvbjerg,co-founder ofMecanooarchitects bureauFrancine Houben,co-founder ofMVRDVarchitects bureauWiny MaasandNathalie de Vries,co-founder ofTeam 10Jacob B. BakemaandAldo van Eyck,as well asHerman HertzbergerandJo Coenen.Some notable designers were faculty of TU Delft, includingPaul Mijksenaar,developer of visual information systems forJFK,LaGuardiaandSchipholairports.

Political figures that were faculty of TU Delft include formermayor of LisbonCarmona Rodrigues,formermayor of SarajevoKemal Hanjalić, and the first Dutch prime minister of the Netherlands afterWorld War IIWim Schermerhorn.

Notable alumni

Main article:List of the Delft University of Technology Alumni

Two TU Delft alumni were awarded Nobel Prize and one recipient has been affiliated with TU Delft:Jacobus van 't Hoffwas awarded first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1901 for his work withsolutions.Simon van der Meerwas awarded Nobel Prize in physics in 1984 for his work onstochastic coolingand one has been affiliated with TU Delft,Heike Kamerlingh Onnesin 1913 for studies related to liquefaction of helium in the quest for the lowest temperature on Earth.

Some of the mathematicians includeJan Arnoldus Schouten,contributor to thetensor calculus.Chemists and TU Delft alumni includeWillem Alberda van Ekenstein,Dutch chemist and discoverer ofLobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation.TU Delft alumni and computer scientists includeAdriaan van Wijngaarden,developer ofVan Wijngaarden grammarand co-designer ofALGOL.Famous TU Delft alumni electrical engineers includeJaap Haartsen,developer ofBluetooth.

Political figures that studied at TU Delft includeKarien van Gennip,Dutch secretary of state for economic affairs,Anton Mussert,Dutch politician of World War II era and founder ofNational Socialist Movement in the Netherlands,Abdul Qadeer Khan,father ofPakistan nuclear program,and Dutch politicianWim Dik.Famous TU Delft alumni architects includeErick van Egeraat,Herman Hertzbergerand Hein de Haan. Dutch designers that graduated at TU Delft includeAlexandre Horowitz,designer ofPhilishave,andAdrian van Hooydonk,Dutch automobile designer and head of design atBMW.

TU Delft alumni executives includeJeroen van der Veer,formerCEOofRoyal Dutch Shell,Ben van Beurdenformer CEO of Royal Dutch Shell,Frits Philips,fourth chairman of the board of directors ofPhilipsandGerard Philips,co-founder of Philips.Laurens van den Ackeris a Dutch automobile designer and the vice president of Renault Corporate Design.

Other interesting TU Delft alumni includeLodewijk van den Berg,Dutch-Americanpayload specialistonSTS-51Bmission andPrince Friso of Orange-Nassau,member of theDutch royal family.Other interesting figures that studied at TU Delft were mathematicianDiederik Korteweg,responsible forKorteweg–de Vries equation,who studied at TU Delft before moving toUniversity of Amsterdamand painterMaurits Cornelis Escherwho studied at TU Delft for a year.Thomas Jan Stieltjes,co-developer ofRiemann–Stieltjes integralstudied at TU Delft but never passed his final exams. The internationally renowned graphic designer and industrial designerPiet Zwartstudied at the university 1913–1914.

TU Delft alumni who are currently a faculty of other universities includeWilhelmus Luxemburg,Dutch mathematician andCalifornia Institute of Technologyprofessor, as well asWalter Lewin,Dutch physicist and formerMITprofessor, andAlexander van Oudenaarden,Dutch biophysicist, a director of the Hubrecht Institute.

• 
  Jacobus van 't Hoff,
  Nobel Prizein chemistry, TU Delft student 1869-1871
• 
  Gerard Philips,
  cofounder ofPhilips,TU Delft student 1876-1883
• 
  Cornelis Lely,
  head designer ofAfsluitdijk,TU Delft student 1871-1875
• 
  Ben van Beurdenformer CEO ofRoyal Dutch Shell,TU Delft student 1981-1983

Honoris Causa Laureates

In 1906 TU Delft obtained the right to award PhD degrees. This also marked the date since when the university was able to awardhonorary doctorates.Between 1906 and 2006 exactly 100honoris causadegrees have been awarded. Honorary doctoral degrees are awarded to people that presented extraordinary contributions in their respective fields. Some of the most recognized recipients of TU Delft honorary doctorate include:

• Gerard Philips(1917), co-founder ofPhilipscorporation,
• Hendrik Antoon Lorentz(1918), winner of theNobel Prize in Physicsknown for work onelectromagnetic radiation,
• Prince Bernhard(1951), prince of the Netherlands,
• John Douglas Cockcroft(1959), winner of Nobel Prize in Physics for work on atom splitting,
• Santiago Calatrava(1997) architect.

Reputation and ranking

University rankings
Global – Overall
ARWUWorld	151-200 (2023)
CWURWorld	263 (2023)
CWTSWorld	109 (2023)
QSWorld	49 (2025)
ReutersWorld	60 (2019)
THEWorld	48 (2024)
USNWRGlobal	169 (2023)
Global – Science and engineering
QSChemistry	36 (2024)
QSEngineering & Tech.	13 (2024)
QSNatural Sciences	47 (2024)
THEComputer Science	45 (2024)
THEEngineering	16 (2024)
THEPhysical Sciences	61 (2024)

Overall rankings

TU Delft was 47th worldwide in QS WUR 2024, 48th worldwide in THE WUR 2024, 169th worldwide in USNEWS 2022-2023, and 151-200th worldwide in ARWU 2022. It was the 78th best-ranked university worldwide in 2022 in terms of aggregate performance across THE, QS, and ARWU, as reported byARTU.

TU Delft was 43rd worldwide in the THE World Reputation Rankings 2022.

It was also the 15th most international university worldwide in 2023 according to THE.

Subject /Area rankings

TU Delft is ranked a top university for Engineering and Technology worldwide, being positioned for this subject at 10th place in 2022 byQS World University Rankings,at 21st place in 2022 byTimes Higher Education World University Rankings,and respectively at 21st and 7th place for Engineering and Civil Engineering accordingly in 2020 byU.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.

In the field of Civil and Structural Engineering, TU Delft has been ranked among the world's top 2 in 2022, in the field of Architecture among the world's top 2 since 2012, and in the field of Mechanical Engineering in the top 5 since 2022 by QS World University Rankings.

Affiliations and partner universities

TU Delft has formed partnerships with leading universities across Europe for student exchange and combined degree programs.

• IDEA League:strategic alliance between TU Delft,ETH Zurich,RWTH Aachen,Chalmers UniversityandPolitecnico di Milano.
• CESAER:non-profit institution of leading universities in Europe
• EUA:forum of universities for cooperation and exchange in higher education
• Leiden-Delft-Erasmus alliance: a strategic alliance betweenLeiden University,TU Delft, andErasmus University Rotterdamin the areas of education, research and valorisation
• 4TU:federation of four leading Dutch technical universities TU Delft,TU Eindhoven,Wageningen UniversityandUniversity of Twente
• UNITECH International:non-profit organization aiming to prepare Engineers for their professional future through exchange
• SEFI:leading organization for providing information exchange in Europe
• SAE:network of eight Dutch universities that supports universities cultural collections and heritage
• ATHENS:network of European universities supporting one week exchange sessions
• PEGASUS:network of European Aeronautical universities
• ENHANCE Alliance: network of European Technical universities; TU Delft,Chalmers University of Technology,ETH Zurich,Gdańsk University of Technology,Norwegian University of Science and Technology,Polytechnic University of Milan,Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen,Technische Universität Berlin,Universitat Politècnica de València,Politechnika Warszawska.

TU Delft has partnered with many universities worldwide for exchanges.

See also

• Ampelmann system

External links

• Delft University of Technology official website
• Delft University of Technology official website in Dutch