Llowlab: “A phenomenal event!”

The University of Twente gives science public appeal at Lowlands

Last weekend’s edition of the Lowlands music festival featured plenty of music, but it also gave the stage to science. More than twenty students and staff members from the University of Twente treated festival goers to a behind the scenes look at UT research in easy-to-understand presentations. Four UT displays were set up on the Llowlab grounds. According to the UT’s coordinating agent, Jeroen Blok, the University’s participation was a huge success. “It was a phenomenal event! Over the three days we got 20,000 visitors. And the great thing about it is, everyone was genuinely interested. This is a brilliant way to promote science among a wider audience.”

This was Llowlab’s third year at the festival. Within the Lowlands festival grounds, a section of a floating platform had been set aside for a variety of universities and knowledge institutes to acquaint festival visitors with the world of scientific research. The theme this year was sustainability.

Model House

With four displays and more than twenty staff members and students helping out, the University of Twente was well represented at Llowlab. Amongst the presentations was a scale model of a modern house incorporating all manners of electrical appliances – even including a miniature solar panel. Built to showcase the Smart Grid concept, the model demonstrated – on a small scale – how this intelligent energy network can use smart technology to coordinate energy demand with energy supply. This includes aspects such as setting an electrical car to start recharging only once the solar panel can supply sufficient energy. Bearing in mind that there should be no practical inconvenience to the user (and that the car should be recharged when the user needs it), this calls for smart software. The algorithm used to control the electrical appliances in the scale house was developed at the University of Twente and can already be implemented in practice.

Smart Wall

Another display on the grounds revolved around the so-called Smart Wall. Built using a special thermoelectric material developed at the University of Twente, the wall converts a temperature gradient into electrical current. By placing their hands on the wall, visitors could use their body heat to power small lamps. According to Blok, applications for this material include the conversion of heat generated by a motor vehicle into electricity.

Green Oil

Visitors at the University of Twente’s third display were shown a process by which wood can be converted into pyrolysis oil. Mixed with a product like petrol, this oil provides a source of renewable fuel. Among the advantages of this green oil, Blok explains, is that it can help reduce fossil fuel consumption but does not compete with the food chain in the way that fuels like maize-based ethanol do.

Tiny Laboratories

At the fourth display, festival goers were set to work. In this interactive demonstration, visitors could cycle on a stationary bike to generate energy that was then used to separate out liquids. The object of the display was to illustrate (on a larger scale) the mechanism behind what are known as labs-on-a-chip, comprising tiny laboratories no larger than a fingernail. UT Professor Albert van den Berg also made an appearance at the festival to give a special lecture on these tiny laboratories (click here for the full story).

Genuine Interest

Looking back on the event, Blok calls it a great success. “Last year we had 13,000 visitors at Llowlab. This year we had a much larger setup and drew 20,000 visitors. What struck me is that everyone was genuinely interested and that visitors posed a lot of insightful questions. Participating in the festival like this is a brilliant way to promote science among a wider audience. In my opinion it’s definitely an event worth repeating.”