4TU.Alumni Event London

Sophie Armanini (alumna TU Delft)

Sophie Armanini is an Associate Professor in Aerial Robotics at Imperial College London, Department of Aeronautics. Her research focuses on unmanned air vehicles: especially unconventional design solutions, which result in new robotic capabilities, higher efficiency and performance, and new real-world applications.

Sophie is particularly interested in nature-inspired robots, including flapping-wing ones mimicking insects and birds. Before joining Imperial in 2024, she was an Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Munich and a Research Associate at Imperial College. She has also been a visiting researcher at Cornell University, Cranfield University, and AOS Group.

Sophie holds an MSc from the Technical University of Munich and a PhD from TU Delft, both in Aerospace Engineering.

Ghita Berrada (alumna UT)

Ghita Berrada is an Assistant Professor (Education) at the Data Science Institute at the London School of Economics (LSE). She is is interested in 'decision support systems', in particular in domains such as healthcare or computer security. 

Prior to joining LSE, Ghita was a Research Associate at the University of Edinburgh where she investigated the use of categorical anomaly detection techniques for advanced persistent threats (i.e a type of cyberattacks) as well as a Research Associate at King’s College London where she mainly worked on clinical decision support systems (e.g for cancer diagnosis or antibiotics prescription). 

Ghita completed a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Twente in 2015.

Fabian Blombach (alumnus WUR)

Fabian Blombach originally trained as environmental scientist in Germany. He became fascinated with molecular biology and biochemistry which lead to him joining the laboratory of microbiology, Wageningen UR, as PhD student in 2006. 

In 2011, Fabian joined Prof Finn Werner’s research group at University College London with a DFG Postdoctoral Fellowship where he became senior research fellow in 2026.

Fabian’s research centres around the fundamental principles of gene regulation in Archaea and the question how Archaea make a molecular machinery that mirrors our own eukaryotic ancestors work in cells that are fundamentally bacterial-like in their organisation.

Koen van Dam (alumnus TUD)

Koen van Dam received his PhD from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in 2009, when he was working in the Energy & Industry group at the faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. After graduating he joined Imperial College London, working as a Research Fellow at the Department of Chemical Engineering specialising in energy systems modelling and the application of simulation models to provide decision-support for energy transitions.

Koen's research focus is on developing models of city and infrastructure systems, looking at energy and transport sectors at different scales from individual buildings to the national level. Such models can then be used to experiment with the impact of local interventions on system-level performance, providing valuable-decision support for the design and operation of new technologies, networks, services, and policies.

Stijn van Ewijk (alumnus UT)

Stijn van Ewijk is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Environmental Engineering at University College London. He is an expert on waste management and the circular economy. Stijn aims to drive sustainability by advancing the integration of material flow analysis and life cycle thinking in policymaking. He has worked internationally with policymakers to develop evidence and policies for reducing environmental impacts.

Previously, Stijn was a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale Center for Industrial Ecology and a Research Associate at UCL. He was also an ABSW Media Fellow at The Times and a visiting researcher at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Stijn obtained his PhD from the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and holds MSc degrees in Sustainable Energy Technology and Public Administration from the University of Twente.

Aryo Feldman (alumnus WUR)

Aryo Feldman is an interdisciplinary Environment-Society Coordinator and Scientist working with not-for-profits in the Sustainability sector so they can catalyse shifts towards justice in Food Systems. He has previously worked in International Agriculture in Asia and Africa, as well as in Sustainable Development and Agroecology in Europe. 

Aryo's current role is as a Teaching Leader for RBG Kew, co-directing the MSc in Global Health: Food Security, Sustainability and Biodiversity, which is jointly run with Royal Holloway, University of London. He is also on the steering group for The Agroecology Learning Collective (TALC) and pursuing an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway.

Aryo has a PhD in Biosciences from the University of Nottingham with a specialisation in Crop Physiology, Plant Breeding and Genetics and an MSc in Development and Rural Innovation from Wageningen University with a specialisation in Political Ecology and Decolonial Anthropology, as well as an MSc in Crop Improvement from the University of Nottingham.

Marc Masen (alumnus UT)

Marc Masen is a Reader in Tribology and Mechanical Engineering Design at Imperial College London. He leads research in Biotribology and Sustainable Tribology, investigating how materials respond to mechanical contact in biological systems and developing methods to reduce friction, wear, and environmental impact in engineering applications.

In 2022 Marc was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' Donald Julius Groen Prize for his contributions to Human Tribology. Alongside his research, he is a committed educator and recipient of three Imperial College President's Awards, for Excellence in Education (2022), Societal Engagement (2023), and Excellence in Research (2024).

Marc received his MSc and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Twente.

Chayanin Tangwiriyasakul (alumnus TU/e-UT)

Chayanin (Chin) Tangwiriyasakul is a computational neuroengineer working at the interface of engineering, neuroscience, and clinical medicine. Originally from Thailand, he studied and worked across Germany and the Netherlands, including a PDEng in Mathematics (Mathematics for Industry) from TU Eindhoven and a PhD in Neural Engineering from the University of Twente. His time in the Netherlands shaped his interdisciplinary approach and his interest in translating quantitative models into practical solutions for healthcare.

Chin's research focuses on developing clinically deployable, human-centred AI for neurological disorders such as stroke and epilepsy. He leads international initiatives on UK-Thailand federated learning for secure multi-centre clinical AI and on digital twins of the brain to support personalised diagnosis and treatment.

From 2026, he holds a Lectureship at the Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital (Mahidol University, Thailand), and is an Honorary Lecturer at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s College London.

Bart Vanneste (alumnus TU/e)

Bart Vanneste is an Associate Professor in the Strategy & Entrepreneurship group of the UCL School of Management. Bart’s research focuses on artificial intelligence and corporate strategy.

Bart has published widely including a book titled Corporate Strategy: Tools for Analysis and Decision-Making and in prestigious journals such as Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, and Strategy Science. He is the Programme Director of the AI for Business executive education programme at the UCL School of Management. He was awarded the Management Best Teacher Award by UCL School of Management.

Bart obtained a Ph.D. in Strategic & International Management from the London Business School, an M.Sc. in Data Science & Machine Learning from UCL, as well as an M. Sc. in Industrial Engineering & Management Science from TU Eindhoven.