Why the Best Lecturer and Graduate of TU Delft 2015 won the day

As you may have seen the posters, or maybe you even attended the event, yesterday the best lecturer and graduate of TU Delft were elected. Dr. ir. Alexander in ‘t Veld (AE) was chosen as the Best Lecturer of TU Delft 2015 and ir. Hanan al-Kutubi (AS) received the award for the Best Graduate of TU Delft 2015.

Alexander teaches two different courses within the Bachelor curriculum, ‘Flight Dynamics’ and ‘Simulation, Verification & Validation’.

Alexander understands that every student is different and proactively designs assignments for them.  He also makes use of effective tools to better visualize said material, like a colourful meter long toy aircraft. With this model aircraft Alexander is able to visualize the ways in which an aircraft reacts to basically all possible manoeuvres and how different effects create reactions of the aircraft.

His way of teaching makes the sometimes dry but difficult mathematical topics understandable and interesting.  In a very open way he breaks down the more complex matter into simple basics providing the students with a clear explanation. He can let the theory come to life by connecting to the real world, with examples and real life stories from his own experiences.

Alexander is one of the big defenders of the practical approach and is really convinced that the best way for students to learn. He gives students the chance to really be in an aircraft, during the flight dynamics test flight, a flying classroom, and monitor the same instruments that pilots have in the cockpit.

Hanan Al-Kutubi’s research project was unique because she successfully completed two research projects.

Her goal was to simplify the synthesis by for instance decreasing the time and temperature needed, with the result of having a more environment friendly, less expensive and more accessible process. Hanan published the results of her MSc thesis in three peer-refereed journal articles.

1. She developed a new sustainable synthesis method for ZnO/ZIF-8 nanohybrid materials with future potential applications in catalysis, sensing, and membrane technology.

2. She developed a novel versatile approach for the synthesis of metal oxides using polymers of intrinsic porosity as a template in collaboration with various international partners. The new metal oxide nanostructures produced in this research may find applications in future supercapacitors. Showing highest levels of leadership in the project and strong independence,