Veni grant for three UT researchers

Mapping the Modern Electromagnetic Environment: Identifying Stray Currents in Complex, Interaction-Driven Systems

Dr T.H.F. Hartman (Tom), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS)

Electric cars, heat pumps and solar panels are everywhere. As a result, ordinary homes, vehicles and farms are now full of electronics that create increasingly complex electromagnetic environments. On dairy farms, for example, stray currents can cause stress and changes in behaviour in cows. While existing measurement methods can detect interference problems, they provide only a limited picture of how these environments behave as a whole. Tom Hartman is building a sensing system that measures simultaneously at multiple locations, for example in a barn or a home. This helps researchers understand where electromagnetic interference originates, how it propagates and how it can ultimately be prevented.

Unveiling the physics of CO2 Desublimation: Advancing Cryogenic Carbon Capture through Fundamental Phase Change Studies

Dr A.S. Purandare (Abhishek), Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET)

Power plants and the steel and cement industry emit large amounts of CO₂. One promising way to capture those emissions is to freeze the CO₂ straight out of the flue gases at very low temperatures. This needs no chemical solvents or solid filters and yields fairly pure CO₂ that can be reused or stored. However it is not well understood how that freezing works on a cold surface. Abhishek Purandare will use advanced imaging techniques to film this process and develop computer models that describe it. The results will help reveal how solid CO₂ layers grow and how this knowledge can be used to design more efficient carbon capture systems.

Ultrathin Polymer Membranes with In-Situ Ångstrom-Scale Channel Generation via Associative Bond Exchange

Dr C. Ye (Chongnan), Faculty of Science and Technology (S&T)

Industry constantly separates one substance from another, for instance in oil refineries. This is usually done by heating, which consumes 10 to 15 per cent of all the energy used worldwide. Membranes, a kind of ultrafine sieve, are far more efficient. The drawback is that every gas mixture needs its own membrane. Chongnan Ye is therefore making ultrathin membranes from bonds that can break and re-form. The channels inside the membrane adjust themselves to the molecule that has to pass through. The material also repairs its own damage, so it lasts longer.

The aim of the NWO Talent Programme is to create creative space for adventurous, talented, pioneering researchers, in which they can conduct research of their own choosing, develop a line of research and further develop their talent. The Veni target group consists of researchers in the transition phase to independence, for whom the Veni can contribute to the development of the researcher in this field. Researchers eligible for a Veni grant have academic qualities that clearly exceed what is usual. The Veni grant is intended to fund scientifically innovative research and thereby enable these researchers to develop as independent researchers.