Contents. Colophon. A word from the editor A word from the chairman...4. Introducing... the rest of the board!...5

Transcription

1 Colophon Editor s Address: Pedel W-hoog Postbus MB Eindhoven Tel: (040) Fax: (040) r.j.a.steenbakkers@tue.nl Editor: Rudi Steenbakkers Contents A word from the editor... 3 A word from the chairman...4 Introducing... the rest of the board!...5 General members meeting...9 Sinterklaas s visit...10 OLLA Christmas lunch...12 The Pedel is the magazine of Hora Est, the society of Ph.D. students of the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Van Lint Sportweek...13 Hora Est Announcements...15 The Pedel appears as often as possible! 1

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3 A word from the editor Rudi Steenbakkers Greetings, mechanical and biomedical engineers! With this first Pedel of the season, I follow the path firmly trodden by my predecessors Debby Gawlitta and Karlien Ceelen. A word of thanks to these ladies is appropriate, especially to Debby, who worked as an editor for two years! Hopefully, the upcoming editions of the Pedel will live up to what you have come to expect under their editorship. However, that depends as much on my efforts as on all of yours. Besides the reports of Hora Est events, which any attendee may be asked to write once in a while, I encourage everybody to send me as many embarrassing stories about their colleagues as they can gather. So keep your eyes (and ears) wide open! Furthermore, if you feel the urge to share your thoughts or voice your opinion about something, which does not necessarily have to be work-related, you can always use the Pedel for that. Even anonymous contributions will be printed. However, as editor, I reserve the right to adjust or omit things that are offensive in any way. This is not a tabloid you know! Cheers, Rudi 3

4 A word from the chairman Roel Merry Hello everybody, My name is Roel Merry, I was born 25 years ago in Sittard. During the first eighteen years of my life, I lived in the small town of Roosteren. After finishing my Mechanical Engineering study at thetu Eindhoven, I m currently a Ph.D. student in the Control Systems Technology group. During the `ALV of Hora Est, which took place at Thursday, November 17, the new board for the upcoming year was appointed. The board consists of Ewout van der Laan (secretary), Martijn Cox (finances), Kristel Boonen, Famke Kraaijeveld, and Arjen den Hamer (activities), Rolf Pullens (public relations), Rudi Steenbakkers (Pedel), and myself as chairman. The old board did a very good job last year and worked hard to enliven Hora Est. We will try to continue the good work, especially in reaching more Ph.D. students, being an informative and supporting organization, and increasing the interaction between Ph.D. students and various companies. Furthermore, we want to increase the number of active members at both the Hora Est social and scientific activities which we will organize during the year. Besides this all, the upcoming year is the third lustrum of Hora Est. This of course cannot pass by unnoticed. We will organize a special lustrum activity somewhere during this year. We don t yet know what it will be exactly, but it will be spectacular. So, as you can read, we have a lot of plans for the upcoming year. I hope to welcome you all at the Hora Est activities. Best wishes, Roel 4

5 Introducing... the rest of the board! Ewout van der Laan (secretary) Dear Hora Est members and supporters, Last year, a lot of fun and interesting events were organized by the former Hora Est board. The board put a lot of work in all that and they did a great job! So when they were looking for a new board a couple of months ago, and they assured me it would not take a lot of time, I decided that I will try to continue the good work this year. In this board, I am the secretary, so this means all the spam/ is coming from me (but don t blame me for that!). Besides that, I am a PhD-student in the section of Maarten Steinbuch and I hope to contribute with my research to the improvement of airbags and seatbelts in cars. So if you have any questions about Hora Est (or seat belts!), don t hesitate to send me an (horaest@wfw.wtb.tue.nl) or drop by in my office (right across the elevator at floor -1). Ewout Martijn Cox (treasurer) After a year in the cash-checkingcommittee I decided to further increase my commitment to Hora Est and become a member of the new board. Considering my past, it was a logical step for me to become Hora Est s treasurer. My plan for this year is to spend more money on the scientific and social activities. This way, active membership will be rewarded. I will keep the books according to a Dutch child song: (Sinterklaasje) BONNEN BONNEN BONNEN! By the time you read this, you ve probably already met me and my little blue treasure chest. See you all at our next activity! Martijn 5

6 Kristel Boonen (activities) Famke Kraaijeveld (activities) Hey everybody!! Hi! I m Kristel Boonen and I was born in Eindhoven 23 years ago. After 9 years, we moved to Limburg where I lived till I was 18. Then, after finishing high school, I decided to go and study in Utrecht where I did my bachelor at University College, the international Honors College of Utrecht University. When I graduated I decided to stay and do my masters Developmental Biology and Biomedical Genetics at Utrecht University as well. At this time I already moved to Eindhoven and after a year of travelling up and down I tried to find a location for my second internship that was a bit closer to home and this is when I came to the TU. After finishing all of this, I got the opportunity to stay for another 4 years to try and find out whether it is possible to produce meat industrially. So, of course, I stayed and now I am also taking part in the Activities committee of the new Hora Est board. Hope to see all of you soon!!! My name is Famke Kraaijeveld. After spending eighteen years on the island Hoekse Waard, near Rotterdam, I went to study Applied Mathematics in Delft. October 2004 I started my PhD at the department of Soft Tissue Biomechanics and Engineering on Damage in Ionised Porous Media with application intervertebral disc herniation. It was not easy to get contact with other students as an outsider. So I joined some sports and Hora Est!! But it was also hard to get information about doing a PhD. The Hora Est activities helped me to improve the contact with other PhD students and to get more information about doing a PhD at the TU/e. I am in the activities committee to help to improve the contact. I am also in the board of overall student council PromoVE, so I hope I can also provide more information about doing a PhD at the TU/e. Our main goal will be to organize the lustrum activities with a dance as main event!! If you want to help, let us know!! I hope to see you at the activities! Gr. Famke 6

7 Arjen den Hamer (activities) Rolf Pullens (public relations) Hi all, Hi As a new member of the activity committee, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Arjen den Hamer, born on May 28th, 1980 in Terneuzen, a city in the south of Zeeland. After spending many years on repairing mopeds, I decided that Mechanical Engineering could possibly be a suitable study for me. After 6 years of work, I couldn t leave the concrete of WH and added another 4 years to do a PhD. As a result, I now spend most of the day at floor -1 where I work in the Control Systems Technology group on data-based controller synthesis. Beside this, I like to play tennis and do bicycling in my spare time. Furthermore listening music and visiting some places for a drink belong to my favorite activities. As members of the activity committee, Kristel and Famke and myself are responsible for organizing both social and educational activities. We hope these will supply you a pleasant and informative time with your colleague PhD members. If, on any occasion, you have got suggestions for activities, please feel free to inspire us with your bright ideas. My name is Rolf Pullens. I was born on the 14 th of September, 1980 in a small town called Waalwijk. After finishing my secondary school in Waalwijk, I started studying biomedical engineering in Eindhoven. After doing research in the field of cartilage tissue engineering during my graduation project, I started working as a PhDstudent in June of My research project falls within the tissue-engineering-of-heart-valvesproject in the Materials Technology group and my job is to look at the influence of endothelial cells on the remodeling of tissue engineered heart valves. As a member of this year s board I will be responsible for the public relations of Hora Est. Last years board did a very good job in improving the relations with different companies, which resulted in sponsored drinks and an advertisement in the Pedel (take a look at the back of this Pedel). Off course I want to continue the good work and keep spreading the news that Hora Est has a lot of fine PhDstudents who will be valuable for many companies in the future. Another part of my job is updating the Hora Est website. After every activity or drink new photos will be 7

8 uploaded and off course all other relevant information will placed there. So my advice is: check our website ( regularly for photos and info. Kind regards, Rolf If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The Hora Est Board

9 General members meeting (ALV) Rudi Steenbakkers On the 17th of November, the old board of Hora Est organized the annual ALV, in which the candidates for the new board would be presented. Afterwards, free drinks were served at the Borrelplein and there was the possibility to partake in a Chinese dinner. But first the official stuff. The retiring chairwoman, Angelique Balguid, gave a presentation with a nice overview of the goals and achievements of the board in Three goals had been defined beforehand: 1. Reach all the PhD-students in W- hoog and get more active members. 2. Encourage members to join the activities. 3. Becoming an informative and supporting organization, where you can ask questions concerning training possibilities, insurances, saving plans etc. Taking a look at the number of (active) members compared to the previous year, as well as the number and diversity of events organized by this board, we see that they did a great job. By the way, more details can be found in the Annual Report (contact horaest@wfw.wtb.tue.nl). 9 After retiring treasurer Dennis Bruijnen had given an overview of the financial development of Hora Est over the past year, the candidates introduced themselves and proposed chairman Roel Merry presented their goals, as mentioned in his contribution on page three of this paper. Finally, proposed treasurer Martijn Cox explained his financial plan for The new board was approved and then it was time for and followed by Chinese food, which was of course abundant.

10 Sinterklaas s visit to (but not into) W-Hoog Rudi Steenbakkers Our beloved Saint Nicolas, a.k.a. Sinterklaas, had planned to drop by the Borrelplein at the first of December. So many Ph.D. students and staff members were there, eagerly awaiting the coming of the `goedheiligman (goodholyman) from Spain. When the tension had become nearly unbearable, two goofy looking helpers of Sinterklaas (obviously not Black Petes) entered the room. They were the reception comittee for the Saint. To entertain us while waiting for their boss, they read from his Big Book. This apparently contained a lot of information on members of Hora Est who, as we learned that night, are not always as kind or modest, let alone skillful or intellligent, as you might think. at the police station. So every one forgot about it and the party continued in a positive spirit. Sinterklaas was indeed released. With the help of his Black Petes, he successfully delivered all presents to the children of the Netherlands and returned to his estate in Spain safe and sound. Meanwhile, there was a continuous radio connection with Sinterklaas to guide him to W-Hoog. Finally, the moment came that he arrived at the entrance of the building. But then disaster struck: the Saint was mistaken for an unwanted intruder and arrested by the security. All people of Hora Est present at the Borrelplein could hear this tragic event happening. However, they soon realised that Sinterklaas would be released if he identified himself 10

11 OLLA 2005 Famke Kraaijeveld Each year some old members are invited to discuss their post-phd life. This year Nenad Mihajloviæ, Marjolein van Lieshout and Leonie van den Heuvel gave a presentation. How better to start a social activity like this than with a dinner!! After the dinner we stumbled upstairs to a small room. After some technical problems (predictable) Marjolein was able to start her presentation, while all enjoyed their welcome cup of coffee. Marjolein van Lieshout (BME, Philips Care & Health Applications) When Marjolein was almost finished she just simply told people she was looking for a job. She got an unexpected call from her future boss. After an afternoon of interviews and a presentation she got the call we are enthusiastic about you and we want you in our team. Now she is working at the high tech campus. A few impressions: clocking system; brainstorm weeks; notepads on lunch tables; bonuses for money saving solutions; every 4 years change of job; etc.. Her task is a bit vague: something to do with diabetes. But then again she can determine her own direction, of course within limits. 11 Leonie van den Heuvel (BME, ASML Flow and Heat Control) Leonie was also got her job without much effort. She remembered that she still had to apply to keep her governmental support. Fast enough she was hired by the interim agency to work at ASML. She works on a specific part for flow and heat control in a chip-making device. She is also hired to form a bridge between the analyzers and constructors professionally, but turns out also socially J. She has forced the men to say hi on the hallway and now they even get coffee for each other! She likes the clear tasks, the responsibility and the fact that somebody needs your work. Nenad Mihajloviæ (Mech, Royal Philips Electronics) For Nenad it was a whole different story. To keep his residence permit he started applying before the end of his PhD. He did a self assessment workshop to find out what he wanted and how to apply at Dutch companies. It made no difference whether he sent his application in Dutch or English, but how you address them. His theory: Companies are like women. They just want to hear how nice they are. The bigger the firm, the more feminine!.

12 Now he is working in a team on a new way of reading and storing data. Where the physicists do the static optics, he does the dynamics and he is pinned to the ground by the designers. The PhD gave him the tools to analyze and understand complex problems, but also to live in own world and tendency to live in the clouds. Now a real product has to come out of it. But that is also what he likes about the job. Conclusions After discussion we can conclude that working and finishing a PhD is very hard. Working at a company means you have to work interdisciplinary and a product has to come out of it. Furthermore the responsibilities can vary. So when you look for a job, do some self assessment to decide what you want and which company/ department fits with that. Do your homework and use your network! And remember companies are like women!! Christmas Lunch Lisette Cornelissen The days become shorter and shorter, it is cold outside and every time you turn on the radio, the only thing you hear are Christmas songs all signs that it is time for a real Christmas lunch. A very good idea, according to the many people that wanted to participate the Hora Est Christmas Lunch. There were so many people that said to join the lunch that the board decided to remove the posters so that you could officially not subscribe anymore. But unofficially, a lot is possible... We moved from our standard hora est location (het borrelplein) to room 4.23 which was turned into a nice lunch room. The tables were covered, the candles were burning, some Christmas music was filling the room and the buffet was provided with delicious food. The first few people that entered this good atmosphere assisted the board by cutting the last few breads, tomatoes and cucumbers and then (after paying) everything was finished to start the cozy lunch. All people joined the buffet and chose whatever they like. The hora est board did a very good job. They took care of delicious food and drinks... I m looking forward to the next lunch. Maybe just before Easter? 12

13 Van Lint Sportweek: Hora kicked some Asst! Debby Gawlitta For the van Lint sports competition in late December Hora Est assembled a volleyball team consisting of Roel, our chair, Lisette, Anita, Jeroen vh, Arjen, Ewout and myself. To lift the team spirit it was agreed upon to all wear a red shirt. Rolf had come to cheer for us and to coach us: Juist!. was to spread our chances (i.e. place the women as such that they are not all on the field at once). This seemed to be a successful approach as we nailed the first game. As I think of it, I dare to say, we would even have won if we hadn t used our strategies because our opponent really sucked. During the second game we started to get even more motivated as the winning mood was prolonged and Rolf s comments became more and more enthusiastic. On Wednesday we found ourselves in a pool competition with Atilla and Nayade/Euflex. The first game, they played against each other. As Atilla had a slight shortage of people (just two or three) at the start, we let our ladies do their warming up during their game. This was also a very tactical move. Of course, the Hora Est ladies were the best Atilla players of that evening. After that, the actual competition began for our team. We discussed what would be the most strategic arrangement of people in the field and the only thing we could think of 13 After the second game it turned out that there suddenly appeared to be a fourth team part of our pool competition, which we had to beat an hour later. So, how to kill an hour better than to have a drink and build some more team spirit? While enjoying our drinks we suddenly realized that the possibility of getting to the finals on Thursday had come very close. This was way beyond our expectations! Luckily, (as we seemed to have decided we would definitely get into those finals) we all could free us more or less from our extremely busy schedules to be able to play the finals the next day. As we were in the winning mood already we stepped into the third pool game at seven o clock. This time our team encountered a bit of

14 Number one!!! (...of the non-sober teams...) (some team members seemed to be hindered somewhat by the alcohol consumption). In the final minute, our scores were tied and Lisette placed a beautiful service and scored just as the game ended. This of course invoked a greet cheer. We had won all three games! Then on Thursday, the six winners of the pools faced each other. We had to play two games in this pool. The first game we encountered the purple shirts (envision some male students with winner s rage in their eyes looking at our team, thinking How the hell did they manage to get to play today? You must be kidding ). Fortunately, we had our personal audience supporting us after their uni-hockey experience. The cheering sometimes even was stronger than our coach s voice. All after all, we tried to stand strong and we even scored some points (though this seemed to be a tiny part of the total amount of points 14 scored during that game). On this point, I certainly do not want to blame the DCT-x-mas drinks for our loss. But now I m lying, because I do! Obviously, the DCT players of the Hora Est team had to sweat out their beers during our first game. The second semi-final-pool game we were lined up against the ESAC. During the match we had to play without our Hora Est chair as he sacrificed himself to go play the squash finals instead of Ewout (the only experienced volleyball player in our team). With six people on the field we played for victory and gave the full 100%. The efforts paid off and in the final minutes we scored three more points and won. Though we had won, there was only a very unlikely, hypothetical possibility of getting into the finals. And we didn t...

15 Hora Est Announcements Birthdays January 12 Bart Rem 13 Michiel Koot 15 Reinhard Forstner Jeroen van Helvoort Varvara Kouznetsova 18 Martijn Cox 20 Jan-Willem Housmans 29 Sjoerd van Tuijl February 4 Marcel Rutten 7 Marleen Rieken 15 Lisette Cornelissen 16 David Bessems Tijmen Gunther Joost van Eekelen 18 Roel van den Berg Yvon Biemans 19 Svetlana Ljevar 22 Aart-Jan van der Voort Linda van Beek 23 Koen van de Meerakker 26 Anke Stekelenburg Maria Stekelenburg PhD defenses April 19 Sander de Putter 15

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