Kees Wesselink - Schram

Every few years, PISA turns up in the news. It is an international study that measures how well 15-year-olds can read, and how good they are at maths and science. The conversation then usually turns to whether the Netherlands is rising or falling in the ranking. That is a shame, because it is not really a ranking at all. So what is it?

Summer is the season of pavement cafés, street parties and long evenings outdoors. But climate change is making our summers so hot that we’re told more and more often to stay indoors. If you don’t have many people around you, that can mean weeks spent alone. Almost every summer a heat record falls somewhere, but for loneliness there is no weather station. Can we design our cities to keep summer sociable for everyone?

During a heatwave, you can feel the city change from street to street. One road shimmers with heat coming off the asphalt. Five minutes away, a leafy street feels almost liveable. For most of us, a heatwave is a hard week that passes. For millions of others, this heat is the everyday climate, with no escape. So it matters whether planting more trees cools the streets that need it most, or mostly benefits neighbourhoods that already experience lower temperatures.

The Netherlands is built on controlling water. That is why we are reinforcing our dikes for warmer, wetter winters. But what if the country does not warm up, but cools down? Can our river delta handle that?

Another hot summer is coming. They arrive more often now, and they hit hardest in the city, where stone and asphalt hold the heat long after dark. Your city has surely thought about this. Most have a climate adaptation plan, full of ambitions for a cooler, safer place to live. Yet on the hottest days the street still bakes and the flat upstairs is unbearable. So where does all that planning actually go?

The 2026 World Cup album has 980 spaces. A packet holds seven stickers. So 140 packets should do the job. Then you are fifty packets in, the album is half empty, and you keep opening players you already have. Why does a 980-sticker album swallow so many packets? We put it to UT mathematician Clara Stegehuis, who studies how randomness behaves in large networks.

Anyone watching the World Cup will see it happen in every match. Around the 23rd minute, the referee stops play, and the players reach for their water bottles. Twice per match, even late at night and even in an air-conditioned stadium. Why is that necessary? The answer says less about football than about how heavily heat strains the body.

Around 44 million Europeans have a tattoo, and the method has barely changed in centuries. A needle punctures the skin over and over to leave ink behind. It hurts, and it damages the skin. In this Kees Study I find out if I can tattoo without a needle?

Electric bikes have made cycling easier. You are still outside. Your legs are still moving. But how healthy is riding an e-bike really? The answer is more nuanced than you might think.

Place a dry sheet of paper in water and the moisture will slowly creep upward on its own. The same thing happens in walls and trees. In tiny channels, water can rise against gravity due to the attraction between water molecules and the walls of those channels. Once a channel is filled, it is still possible to move the liquid around. You can do this with pressure, of course, but also with electricity. This process is called electro-osmosis: using electricity to drive the flow of water.

Imagine your hand moving without you telling it to. Not because you flinched, but because an electrical signal in your brain gave the command. That's what happens in Parkinson's disease. At the same time, electricity on the brain can also help to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. That's exactly what researchers at the Brain Stimulation Lab of the University of Twente are trying to understand.

You doom scroll past another wildfire. A melting glacier. You might feel dread, or maybe a hollow kind of sadness. You close the tab, because what can you actually do about it? If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Just like sea levels and temperatures, levels of eco-anxiety are rising globally. This feeling, uncomfortable as it is, might be exactly where meaningful action begins.

Life-support machines can save your life. But sometimes they can make patients sicker. When doctors use an artificial lung to keep someone alive, the kidneys often also fail. Up to 70% of patients on this treatment develop kidney problems. Could both be solved with the same device?

Your skin bends and stretches all day long. When you grab a doorhandle or laugh, your skin follows effortlessly. Your skin has to deform, be stretched, pulled or pressed, and still return to its original shape. In this story, UT researcher Fay Claybrook explains how she is attempting to replicate these properties in artificial skin.

What happens when a tear suddenly develops in your coronary artery? Do you need immediate surgery, or is medication enough? It’s a crucial and complex decision. In this video, technical physician Lennart van de Velde shows how a digital copy of your aorta helps doctors to choose the most appropirate treatment.

If you think about becoming an engineer, doctor, designer or mechanic, there’s always that tiny voice asking: “But what if a robot takes my place?” It’s a question a lot of people wonder about, especially now that videos of ultra-smart machines pop up on your feed every day. So, will robots replace us, or will we work side by side?

When you think about the Olympic Games, you probably think about medals and world records. Thousands of athletes travel from all over the world. They live and train close to each other. In earlier Olympic Games, that raised a serious question: what if flu or COVID spreads quickly in the Olympic Village?

Ice skating at speeds exceeding 50 kilometres per hour. How do olympians achieve that top speed on the ice? The push-off is crucial, of course, but did you know that at Olympic speeds, approximately 80 per cent of the opposing force is air resistance? In this episode of Kees Study, I dive into the wind tunnel to discover how aerodynamics can make the difference between silver and gold.

Olympic speed skaters glide effortlessly over the ice. Figure skaters spin as if friction barely exists. Ice skating looks effortless, but for physicists, that is deeply strange. In fact, ice skating should not work at all.

No whining, just perform. For many athletes, that's a lesson they learn early on at their sports club. Standards like that travel with them, from youth teams to the Olympic podium. But they also have a downside: an increased risk of physical, psychological and sexual misconduct. The Winter Games show a glorious result. But how safe is the road to get there?

You raise an eyebrow and a cartoon crown pops onto your head. You hold up to fingers, and suddenly: flames! Snapchat filters might feel like magic, but they’re not. Behind every funny mask and smooth skin effect is a computer that has learned to ‘see’. At the University of Twente, student learn to do this themselves. Creative engineering!

Taking a biopsy while a patient is lying in an MRI scanner is extremely complicated. It requires extreme precision. Most robots cannot operate near an MRI scanner. In this new episode of Kees Study, I discover how medical robotics makes this possible, with a robot specially designed for MRI-guided breast biopsy.

Every recipe website seems convinced that you simply cannot make banana bread without first reliving someone’s traumatic childhood memory. But I’m not here to get sentimental about a fake sob story. I’m using a recipe format for a very simple reason: at the University of Twente, we “bake” mini-hearts in the lab. They squish, they jiggle, they contract. And the steps to make them read surprisingly like a cookbook minus the calories, plus some stem cells and all the fun.

Imagine: it’s Secret Santa night. You nervously tap on your phone and ask ChatGPT to whip up a quick poem. The result is… um, well… not exactly gift-worthy. Why are AI models such as ChatGPT often unable to rhyme properly? Thijs van Ede, AI researcher at the University of Twente, knows why and explains AI and rhyming.

Imagine you are sitting in a self-driving car. Suddenly, someone runs across the street. In a fraction of a second, the car decides to brake. How does it do that so quickly? And could it do so even faster or with less energy, especially now that self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles rely heavily on cameras, smart sensors and AI systems?

Running is wonderful. Until an injury, such as a painful Achilles tendon, sidelines you. After struggling with an injury to my Achilles tendon, I want to know: how can I prevent future running injuries, and how can technology help? For my new Kees Study, I’m diving into the world of biomedical engineering and its connection to running.

The Netherlands has exceptionally clean tap water. Drinking water companies purify it with modern technologies such as membranes and check the quality continuously. Yet some TikTok influencers try to scare you off and try to sell you a home water filter. Experts such as UT professor Wiebe de Vos warn that home filters are unnecessary. Here are five reasons why a home water filter in the Netherlands is mostly unnecessary and sometimes detrimental.

The suit of the fictional superhero Iron Man grants engineer Tony Stark superhuman strength, flight and other superhero abilities. Engineers from Twente figured out how to build a team of Iron Men, by coating sperm cells with iron nanoparticles. Suddenly, they can be steered like robots.

In Spain, the lights went out for millions of people. Not because of a cyber attack, but because of... sunlight. Researchers at the University of Twente see this as a lesson in systems thinking: sustainable solutions require smart direction. And that involves more maths than you might expect.

It is well known that artificial intelligence can beat the best players in board games, but did you know that UT is using the same techniques to make logistics more efficient? So your groceries are delivered smarter while ASML saves millions.

At sunrise, deep in Ghana’s tropical forest, a camera 40 metres above ground wakes up. It captures a treetop bursting into bloom, or not... A small detail in a vast green landscape, but one that holds a crucial clue to understanding how our climate is changing.

The energy transition requires action. Not just from policymakers or engineers, but precisely from the people who have to do it: the installation engineers, work planners and technicians. They are the key to change. But how do you give them space to learn the necessary skills as well as to innovate?

Every once in a while, in a quiet corner of the TechMed Centre of the University of Twente, anonymous employees roll up their sleeves and donate a small tube of blood. Not to save a life today, but to provide real human blood for scientific research.

What happens when you let someone with no experience drive a rolling machine? In this episode of Kees Study, Kees explores how people learn new skills with technology.

You are young, struggling with your identity, and feel misunderstood by those around you. When you finally take the step to seek help, you find yourself on a two-year waiting list. In the meantime? Little to no support. For many LGBTQ young people, this is not a fictional scenario, but the harsh reality. The healthcare system is stuck: GPs are at a loss and psychological care is overloaded. But what if digital technology can play a role in this?

We all face loss at some point in our lives. For some people, the grief becomes increasingly bearable, but others struggle with their grief for years. That is why researcher Lonneke Lenferink is working on the mourning meter, a scientifically validated questionnaire that measures the severity of grief and thus keeps an eye on it.

What if preparing for climate change could be as simple as playing a game? Cities everywhere are dealing with flooding, but not everyone knows what they can do to help. Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), like rain barrels and green roofs, could make a huge difference. But how do you educate people about them? My name is Kees, and I am participating in experiments to learn more about the research at the University of Twente. In this Kees Study, I participated in the research of Dr. Carissa Champlin from the Urban and Regional Planning department at ITC.

In the heart of the Netherlands, among the centuries-old trees of the Veluwe, a new way of studying our planet is taking shape. Using advanced sensors, Paul Vermunt is comparing mathematical models with satellite data. His ultimate goal is to enable satellites from among other ESA to measure the water content in forests.

Did you know that in winter, solar panels produce only 10% of their summer output? In a country like the Netherlands, where we lead the world with 3.5 solar panels per person, this seasonal drop is a major challenge. Why do solar panels produce so little energy in winter? And what can we do about it?

The smartphone in your pocket and other electronic devices are packed with microchips. With a huge demand for smartphones, computers, and other smart technologies, there is a global shortage of these chips. Production processes simply cannot keep pace with the immense demand. But why does making a computer chip take so long?

Every year, cardiovascular disease impacts over 126 million people worldwide. In the quest for effective treatments, researchers are tirelessly working to develop better solutions. However, current animal and test-tube models often fall short in predictive accuracy. Prof. Dr. Robert Passier is at the forefront of this research, combining advanced technologies to create innovative human heart models that function like real human hearts. This groundbreaking invention could lead to safer medications and reduced reliance on animal testing in research.

Imagine: you’re at a festival, and your phone always has full signal. No more slow internet or apps that won’t load. Sounds like a dream, right? Lotte Weedage, a PhD candidate at the University of Twente, is researching ways to improve the mobile network in the Netherlands, so this could become a reality.

The greatest athletes are awarded medal after medal at the Paris Olympics. At the same time, very small athletes in Twente are imitating them. In MESA+'s Nanolab, a group of enthusiastic PhD students are making Olympians-on-a-chip. They organise the Nanolympics. The best sports fragments are given a place on chips measuring just five by five millimetres.

The switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy is going to need some nifty technology that depends on chemical elements that we have not used much before, and most of these come from minerals in rocks in the Earth’s crust. Five of these minerals stand out as Earth’s potential lifesavers.

The province of Overijssel is known for its robust agricultural and animal-farming activities. But the bustling livestock farms come with a cost. The animals produce an overwhelming amount of manure, leading to water pollution and harmful emissions. But what if this ‘waste’ could become a source of energy?

We are living in the Plastic Age, such is the ubiquity of plastics in our lives. The plastic waste in water ecosystems alone is expected to nearly triple from 11 million tonnes in 2016 to 29 million tonnes in 2040*. Biodegradable materials, such as polylactic acid, are seen as an alternative for use in packaging, agriculture, and medical devices. But how biodegradable are these materials in reality? Could they be the plastics of the future?

Doctors need blood to treat certain cancers, anaemia, and other blood-related illnesses, but also need it in emergency or scheduled surgeries. Most people are unaware, but blood shortages are quite frequent and can happen anytime. Blood donors are always needed. Francisca Fernandes Gomes, PhD student at the University of Twente, aims to create synthetic, artificial blood that can replace the need for donated blood. In this story she explains her work.

Unsustainable development leads to resource scarcity and endangers our future. The traditional take-make-use-dispose in linear economy causes pressure on supply chains. The only way forward according to Devrim Yazan? A sustainable circular economy. But how do you educate students about the complexity of this sustainability approach?

Most of us have done it, walking through familiar streets or looking at your own house with a street view service. Now imagine doing this with a complete virtual replica. Every street, every car, every person walking to their work is meticulously simulated. This is a city digital twin. Discover how researchers at the Digital Twin Geohub of the University of Twente are transforming urban planning – one virtual city at a time.

A surgeon swimming through your body, it sounds like science fiction now, but it might be closer than you think. At the TechMed Centre at the University of Twente, tiny robots were already swimming through a detached aorta with kidneys. Discover the future of vascular surgery.

The Netherlands has been fighting a battle against water for centuries. This symbolism of water as the enemy was popular among 20th-century engineers. In the 21st century, there is more focus on natural processes, and we speak of water management instead. But what will the Dutch water landscape look like in another century?

Can we limit global warming to 1.5 oC? Unlikely, if you'd ask Debra Roberts. The co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is already brainstorming about a plan B. What could be our next steps?

Brace yourself for a mind-boggling journey into the tiny world of nanotechnology. This research area focuses on materials existing of just a few atoms or small molecules. Sometimes, the smallest structures hold the key to groundbreaking advancements. On this scale, the world doesn't follow the same rules.