T-Licht 24.2

T-Licht Association magazine of T.S.V. ‘Jan Pieter Minckelers’

JANUARY 2020 VOLUME 24 EDITION 02

Nitrogen-‘‘crisis” Flavors of the Season Interview:

Norbine Schalij Cover image: Japie walks GLOW 2019

Flowers for van Gogh by Hugo Vrijdag

Hello dear readers, It is still kind of hard for me to realize that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only been one and a half years since I joined this fantastic association and I can already introduce myself as the editor in chief of the T-Licht editorial board. Last edition you already read about Roy and myself splitting up the duties within the editor in chief function, so that our four man strong board could have some time to finish their own duties.

Beer of the Quartile Find out which beer will be the one and only crowed to be beer of this quartile.

As it has only been a few editions since I completely introduced myself I will not spend too much time on that. My name is Teun Prinsen, and this year I will be overseeing the editorial board in their writing, checking and designing so that we can get a, near, perfect T-Licht every time! I enjoy cooking, like I do with the ChefCie and am almost always in to play (board) games. I also want to say that I hope everyone enjoyed last edition and will enjoy this one as well. If you ever feel interested in writing an article or maybe if you have already written something that you would like to publish, please do not hesitate to contact me at all! Teun Prinsen

22 The Knuffelbeertjes You might not know, but Japie has an indoor soccer team which will tell a bit more about themselves.

T-Licht January 2020 04

By the Chairman: Stand Out!

05 Education: Why are you studying? 06

From the Lock-up: People during lectures

Carte Blanche: Dies Week

Chemistry in media: Synthesis and preparation of Unobtanium

Letting of some steam: Get your facts straight

Chemistry in real life: Flavors of the season

Science news: Molecular drills against ‘superbugs’

Carte Blanche : A board year at Wervingsdagen

13 ChefCie: Cordon Bleu Wellington

32 Interview: Norbine Schalij

Carte Blanche: Brexit, a poor separation method

34 Internship: A look in an engineering and consultancy ‘business world’

Carte Blanche: Chronicle of a Knuffelbeer

Excursion: Croda

Beer of the Quartile: You can’t always get what you want

PhD Article: Membranes for a sustainable future - Menno Houben

21 Excursion: Air Products

38 Puzzle: Refreshing the elements

Carte Blanche: The Destiny of a Hard Cup

Wist je datjes

26 Brexit, A poor separation method Colophon Volume 24, edition 2, Circulation: 550 Editor in chief: Teun Prinsen. Editorial board: Bart van den Bersselaar, Raoul Hendrix, Aaryana Kunte, Douwe Orij, Marc Willemsen, Roy Wink. Printer: Gildeprint Drukkerijen info@gildeprint.nl

The T-Licht is the association magazine of T.S.V. ‘Jan Pieter Minckelers’, study association of the department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry of the Eindhoven University of Technology. Contact: T.S.V. ‘Jan Pieter Minckelers’ Attn. Het T-Licht Helix STW 0.25 Postbus 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven Tel: 040-2473756 tlicht.st@tue.nl | www.tsvjapie.nl

The editorial board always reserves the right to edit or decline the provided copy. Index of advertisements: Pg 12: Chemelot Career Center Pg 20: Air Products Pg 25: Dow Pg 28 : Mourik Infra

Stand out By the Chairman

Whether you prefer to synthesize new drugs, design advanced polymers or do simulations on a chemical reactor, ultimately, all students will end up somewhere at a company or institute. In order to obtain a certain position at the spot you like the best, you will need to show you are the ideal candidate! Companies are looking for specific competencies, but what do they want and how can you obtain these skills? In order to be selected by a company, you will need to be able to outshine the others. Previously, students that excelled with their grades, knowledge or insight were sought after. However, in recent years the skills that are required by the industry completely changed. Due to improvements in technology, the way companies are operated changed. Companies grew a lot, and instead of operating on a local level, they became big multinationals with factories in all seven continents. Because nowadays there are so many stakeholders, good communication is one of the most important skills an employee needs to possess. While talking to recruiters of various companies, I repeatedly hear the same thing. In order to be seen by a company, a student needs to be able to stand out from the crowd. Companies are looking for people with certain communicational or collaboration skills. Programs within the university are focused more and more on group projects and soft skills. I think this is a good trend, as I think it is very important that students develop themselves next to their raw knowledge. If you are able to express yourself clearly, your ideas and thoughts will be heard!

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While the improvement of communicational skills will help you during your professional career, they can also help you outside of that. Think about your sports team, for example. If you want to give a teammate constructive criticism, correctly doing this will prevent any frustrations. This will positively benefit your team! Next to your studies, you can do various things yourself to improve even more. Whether you will do a committee or a board year, help minors with studying or sport, or do something completely else. In the end, you will benefit from all your efforts. By gaining several unique skills, you will be able to be a one-ofa-kind engineer!

WRITTEN BY:

Jord Jansen As chairman of the association, Jord wants to emphasize the importance of taking the time to improve yourself

Why are you studying? Education

As the coordinator of educational affairs, it almost pains me to type this out: education is not a purpose on its own. Students do not learn subjects just to teach these subjects to new students. Students learn subjects to prepare them for their future career. And yet, many students, myself included, have no idea what that career is going to be. To tackle this, new steps are being taken to help orientate students on their career possibilities. I know what you are thinking: why would the coordinator of educational affairs write about job orientation? Is that not the task of the coordinator of external affairs? Well, it was up until November 1st this year. On that date, the items that could be introduced into the program and examination regulations were published. On this item list, there was one truly new thing: the MyFuture points. The fact that these MyFuture points could be included in the program and examination regulations makes it very much an educational component since everything within these regulations directly influences every aspect of our education. So, what are the MyFuture points? They can best be compared with the USE points that you already know. In order to receive your bachelor’s diploma, you should get seven MyFuture points. These points can be received by attending career orientation events. Think for example about the lunch lectures, workshops or excursions organized by Japie or Wervingsdagen.

Many students in the master’s program wish that they had been better orientated in their bachelor’s. Then they would have chosen better electives for example. This is one of the main reasons that the MyFuture points exist.

Apart from the MyFuture points, there are several other initiatives to better prepare students for their future career. One example is the hybrid teacher: a lecturer from industry. These hybrid teachers can help students with their knowledge form the actual field. If all goes well, the freshmen of next year should get their seven MyFuture points to get their degree. But like many things within education, this might be postponed for another year. And as to when the hybrid teachers will be implemented: who knows. Regardless, I think these are good initiatives to better intertwine education and career possibilities. Perhaps it is not so painful to type out that education is not a purpose on its own after all.

WRITTEN BY:

Huub van den Boogaard Huub wanted to tell you something about new development on carreer orientation within our education.

People during lectures From the Lock-up

Hello everybody, I’m Mathijs Pinxt and I’m a first-year student. So far I’ve really enjoyed my time here studying in Eindhoven. I have already made some new friends, been to some Japie activities and also done some studying along the way. It has gone well so far so I’m excited to continue studying while also doing some fun activities along the way. Now for the real topic of today. I am going to talk about how people attend lectures, because I think it is really funny and interesting how different everyone experiences a lecture. The first type of person is a really easy one to describe because they don’t attend lectures. This may either be because they have a negative study attitude as Kim Pauwels would say, or because they prefer to watch the livestream. Next are the students who are the most active during lectures. The ones to ask and answer a lot of questions, while other people have no idea what they are talking about (although that may also be personal). These students are the ones who really pay close attention, probably take a lot of notes and come across as really smart. Next up are the people who take a lot of notes during lectures, the ones who just write down everything even if it’s not really related to anything you actually need to know. This takes a lot of effort and can help some people, but to me it’s just a lot of work. Furthermore, we have people who talk during lectures, and I don’t mean occasionally but just the whole time. It is a good thing not everyone does

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this, because then there would be no chance of you hearing what the lecturer is saying at the time, which may or may not come in useful when you actually want to hear what the lecturer has to say. Last but not least are people who are doing something else during lectures. Lectures take time that you could be using to do other useful things like sleeping, doing your homework, staring at something or being on your phone. This may be because they really need to text someone or because they are playing a game that is far more interesting.

I think this about sums up all the types. I personally, like many people, combine a few of these types in my life in a lecture room. I talk (sorry people behind and in front of me), am on my phone and sometimes I watch the livestream.

WRITTEN BY:

Mathijs Pinxt Being a freshman in lock-up Mathijs thought about being locked in lectures and wanted to share his observations with you.

Dies Week Carte Blanche

On December 6th 1957, five students took the initiative to organize a meeting which was attended by almost all student of the department of (what is now known as) Chemical Engineering. The students voted unanimously in favour of the establishment of a study association. Last December, this association already celebrated its 62nd birthday, which is quite a reason to party.

Of course, Japie is an exceptional association, which deserves an extraordinary birthday. Actually not only one day, but a whole week full of activities, parties and gezelligheid. Where a birthday week often seems pretentious and arrogant to ordinary people, it is the most normal thing in the world for Japie.

“The first song that was sung was Tequila, by the Board. Some freshmen decided to put words into action” Monday

For the Board, the week started as normal as any other. At 9 o’clock in the morning, they started their weekly board meeting. But, at around 11:30, the telephone rang. It was Harrie, our favourite confectioner (banketbakker). Like every year, Harrie made a beautiful cake of about 1.5 meters long with a picture of the Board printed on it. When the Board drove (yes, drove) the cake into the pantry, all eyes were pointing the same way and mouths were watering. After a speech by Jord, everyone present got a piece of cake. Some were lucky enough to get one of the first pieces, which came out slightly too big. In the afternoon, the board ones again organized the dies reception. The F.O.R.T. was decorated beautifully and everyone could come to toast on Japie’s upcoming birthday.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, the 32nd F.O.R.T. committee, of course, organized a god old cantus. Thirty-two ready-to-bepunished members gathered in the F.O.R.T. for the well-known activity. As always, the chairman of the F.O.R.T. committee has kept a good secret, so it was not yet known who

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the praesidium would be. While the Io Vivat was sung, the 19th committee F.O.R.T. ‘Pie Debye’ came in, ready to make sure the cantus would run smoothly. After just a few songs, the senior got sick of all the newfangled songs. Luckily, the praesidium brought some codices from 2002, so the participants were able to sing a few songs that were known better by the praesidium. The cantus was great fun, and apart from a broken bench, luckily there were no incidents.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, the ACTcIE organized a Robin Hood Spectacle. During this misty night, the TU/e campus transformed into the city of Nottingham, where Robin Hood and his merry men had to battle with the Sheriff of Prince John for the gold of the city. Several challenges tested the courage, wisdom and strength of the participants. The adventure started, when the men of Robin Hood encountered patrol troops of the Sheriff. Since both parties were armed with bow and arrow, a battle took place. Arrows were upgraded with illumination sticks and fired across the Flux Field, and the troops of Robin Hood managed to steal away some gold. While they tried to secure this gold, they were unfortunately intercepted by the Sheriff and his guards. A smuggling game took

place where the Sheriff and his men attempted to capture the thieves. Because some got captured, jousting followed, where both teams were tested on their balance and finesse. Since both had secured some loot, they played a game of capture the flag to decide who won. In the end, Robin Hood and his men managed to steal away all the gold of the Sheriff and divided it amongst the citizens of Nottingham!

Thursday

On Thursday, someone else celebrated his birthday too, namely Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas, together with two Pieten, surprised as much Japie-students as possible during their lectures and guided self-studies. Sinterklaas told the Board that he advises the secondyear students to go to their guided self-study of linear algebra & statistics a bit more, since he found an almost empty lecture room in the basement of Atlas. In the evening, it was time for the real party! After the regular Thursday drink in the F.O.R.T., over 100 Japies gathered on Stratumseind for the pub crawl. We started at Café Sgt. Peppers, where the Japies instantly claimed the podium. After 45 minutes, it was time to move on to the Ameezing. The first song that was sung was Tequila, by the Board. Some freshmen decided to put those words into action and handed the Board some tequila. Afterwards, the group moved just two doors north, to the FeestFabriek, where the Board again made a horrible mistake. Unbeknownst to most of them, the lady behind the bar put helmets on top of the heads of the Board and started hitting them.

After this adventure, it was time to move on to the Spijker, where once again a podium was conquered. After Japie officially turned 62 at midnight, Japie, of course, moved to Café Costa, where almost everyone stayed until the lights turned on and the Japie song was sung.

Friday

Because the was some happiness borrowed from Friday on Thursday, everyone was hungover on Friday. The undersigned in particular. The best way to get rid of your hangover is to keep on doing things. Some third-year students did this by being on the lab the entire day, but for the rest of the members, the Japie room was moved to the F.O.R.T. to allow the members to enjoy their hangovers on the couch, accompanied by a cold soda. The Board ordered a lot of Scoubidou ropes, so everyone had some handicraft to do. Also, our good friend David Attenborough prepared some great documentaries all the hungover Japies could watch. The dies week was very tiring, but once again, fantastic. I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed Japie’s 62nd birthday. Here’s to another wonderful Japie year!

Dies A Dies (or actually Dies Natalis) is the term used to indicate the birthday of organisations like a university or student association. Dies Natalis comes from the Latin language and litteraly means day of birth. The term comes from the Catholic Church and refers to the day on which a martyr died and was reborn in heaven through the virtue of Christ’s martyrdom and resurrection. During this celebration, the organisation reflects on the history it has. One can imagine that this history is big with universities originating from the 16th or 17th century. Alhough the TU/e was only founded in 1956, every year improvements, breakthroughs and cooperations are happen, what the university proudly celebrates. So, one could state that the term “Dies week” is misused, since this means somethin like week day. The correct use would thus be Septem Natalis.

WRITTEN BY:

Roy Wink As dies week responsible, Roy wanted to share the hectic but enjoyable week in witch Japie turned 62.

Synthesis and preparation of

Unobtanium Chemistry in media

During our studies, we often need to research literature. We’ve spent hours on Web of Science, Google Scholar and various other literature search engines looking for information about the chemicals, reactions and processes. Or we’re going old-school and use an actual paper book. Who hasn’t read the thrilling page-turners such as Atkins’ Physical Chemistry, the big book of Bird or the catchy titled ‘An Introduction to Materials Engineering and Science for Chemical and Materials Engineers’. In this article, however, we’re not going to look for chemistry in nonfiction, but in fiction. Often the chemistry in fiction is presented much more flashy and sensational than it actually is in real life, but honestly, how many of you would like to read a novel in which the character spends three hours of doing column chromatography? The oldest of these fictional elements is Orichalcum, first mentioned by the Greek philosopher Plato. In Critias, Plato tells the tale of the fabled city of Atlantis. According to the story the walls of Atlantis were clad in this red-pink metal and it was almost

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as valuable as gold. It pops up a couple of times in Greek mythology. Depending on the tale, its properties vary, sometimes it’s valuable due to its strength, other times because it floats and occasionally its value lies in being magic resistant.

Elves were able to make an alloy of it, called ithildin, which is only visible in star- or moonlight. While great for hiding secret entrances, I struggle to come up with other practical uses for such a material. Perhaps you can use a suit of armor from it as a gag gift?

Within the fantasy genre, being magic resistant is a reoccurring theme. It has to be, with all those fireballs and dragons flying around. One of the most well-known fantasy materials is Mithril. Originating in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, it is stronger than steel, but much lighter, so that even a Hobbit can wear it. It is a rare metal, only mined by the Dwarves in Moria.

Unlike some of the other elements in this article, Octiron is unaffected by anything except for magic. It’s found on Terry Pratchet’s Discworld, is black and heavy and when it’s rung like a bell, it doesn’t actually make a noise, instead, it silences everything around it. It’s likely named after Octarine, the colour of magic. This colour is only visible by wizards and cats and is a

sort of fluorescent greenish yellowpurple, just to give you an indication. In Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn novels, the materials aren’t based on magic, but the magic is based on the materials. Ingesting metals or alloys allows Allomancers, the ‘wizards’ of the fantasy setting, to enhance several physical and mental abilities. For example, using tin would enhance the user’s senses to superhuman levels. While most of these metals are real, some fantasy metals exist in the setting that give even more fantastical powers. In the comic book world, there is an abundance of fantastical materials and elements. One of the most prominent amongst them is Kryptonite; DC’s Superman’s, well… kryptonite. A fictional material so well known that everyone knows it to be a synonym for Achilles heel or a 3 Doors Down song. This green crystalline material emits radiation that weakens Superman’s alien species and depowers them. According to the 2006 movie Superman Returns, the composition of kryptonite is sodium, lithium, boron, silicate hydroxide with fluorine. Funnily enough a year later scientists discovered a nearly identical compound: sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, officially named Jadarite. However, it is a rather boring white powder, though

it fluoresces pinkish-orange under UV-light. Still not enough to ward off alien superheroes though. Another well known comic material is adamantium. It’s a practically indestructible metal, mostly associated with Marvel’s Wolverine, who has this stuff as a skeleton. With his claws, he’s able to cut through any material, with the exception of Vibranium, another fictional metal, most prominently featured in Captain America’s shield. Due to its alien origin, Vibranium is able to absorb all kinds of vibrations, sounds waves and kinetic energy. Not only fantasy worlds use fictional materials, but they’re also found in some of the more realistic fiction. One can’t really talk about chemistry in media without mentioning Breaking Bad. It prominently features blue meth, it’s an unique color associated with the high purity of Walter White’s product. However, in the real world, this color would indicate impurities, as pure meth is colorless. Still, it became highly iconic for the TVseries. Another famously colored chemical is red mercury. Rumors of this highly destructive material started circulating in the 1970s during the cold war. Articles never really specified what it was, only that it was of great importance in nuclear bombs. Though never actually stated to have a red color, it was named this way because it was supposed to originate in red Soviet Russia. It was sold for extraordinarily high prices on the black market, sometimes going as high as $ 1,800,000 per kg. When it would be analyzed, however, it usually was a common compound, such as mercury (II) oxide or just mercury with some red dye in it.

https://xkcd.com/683

The last fictional element I would like to address is Administratium. It is also known as Bureaucratium and was discovered by Thomas Kyle in 1991. He received an Ig Nobel Prize for this discovery, making him one of only three fictional people to win the prestigious award. An interesting property of this element is that it has a negative half-life, meaning that it becomes more massive and sluggish as time goes by, just like the bureaucracy of some scientific establishments.

WRITTEN BY:

Marc Willemsen Marc has delved into various fictional media to search for the fabled unobtanium.

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Als Trainee neem je deel aan een 2 jarig intensief leertraject gericht op persoonlijke en professionele ontwikkeling voor een carrière op Chemelot. Je wordt intensief begeleid en krijg je diverse trainings- en ontwikkelmogelijkheden geboden zodat je jezelf optimaal ontwikkeld. Binnen jouw opdrachten wordt je begeleid door een mentor binnen je opdracht, een ontwikkelcoach en een carrière coach. Door middel van evaluaties en intervisiemomenten kijken wij samen naar welke extra ontwikkeling en vervolgopdracht het beste passen. Er zijn regelmatig samenkomsten met andere trainees, om getraind te worden, te werken aan groepsopdrachten en waarmee je ook leuke dingen gaat doen.

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ChefCie

Cordon Bleu Wellington ChefCie Recipe

This combination of a beef wellington and cordon bleu is quite perfect for special occasions. Maybe that special person is coming over or you have friends to impress. You don’t need any experience in cooking to make this, you just need to take the time and put in a little effort. This amount of food will easily serve 5 to 6; so don’t be afraid to scale down or up as needed. A nice mustard-cheese sauce to go with it on the side would add another layer of depth to this dish, if you really want to impress. generously coat the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder on all sides. Don’t hold back on this part, there’s nothing as bad as underseasoned chicken.

Equipment needed: - Plastic wrap - Rolling pin

Ingredients

- 4 Chicken breasts - Garlic powder - 4 big slices of cheese - 4 big slices of ham - A bit of your favorite mustard - 1 egg - 8 sheets of puff pastry - Salt & Pepper

Preparation

1. Take the puff pastry out of the freezer to let it thaw a little. Then

2. Get two pieces of plastic wrap and place the chicken breast as flat as possible in between. Take a rolling pin or any other hard object that won’t break and start pounding the breast until it’s nice and thin. It should be so thin that you can easily place a slice of cheese on it without overlapping but not so thin as to destroy the chicken breast. 3. Place a layer of cheese and then ham on top of the chicken and roll it into itself. Get some new plastic wrap and put the rolled chicken on top of it. Roll the plastic wrap around the chicken roll and then spin the sides to get a very tight fit on the chicken. Let the chicken chill in the refrigerator for half an hour and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

want to roll them out to about 1.5 times their original width. Don’t use a lot of pressure when rolling or you’ll break the puff pastry. 5. Lightly brush the puff pastry with mustard and tightly wrap the unwrapped chicken in it. Take the sides and fold towards the seam on the bottom. Lightly coat the top and sides of the roll with egg wash and put some salt on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the puff pastry has a nice color. Enjoy!

WRITTEN BY:

ChefCie The committee liked to share one of their delicious recipes.

4. Take two pieces of puff pastry and carefully mend them together by pressing on the places where they overlap. You don’t have to overdo it as they will combine when you start to roll them out. You will

Brexit

A poor separation method Carte Blanche

For some years now, we have been able to witness a grand experiment set up by the British government. It’s been quite a ride since the start of it all in 2016. But sadly, as we all know, not all experiments are successful. An experiment can fail if deadlines are missed, products lost, or results skewed. But in the end, whether it fails or succeeds, we can learn a lot from it. However if we want, need or expect a certain result, we should put in the appropriate effort. For starters, we should employ the scientific method.

Characterisation

First, a research question must be stated. In this case, it seems that would be: “Does the UK want to leave the EU?” But it must be more specific, to make sure that we answer exactly what we want an answer to. Since the UK itself cannot decide on anything let’s rephrase it: “Do the people of the UK want to leave the EU?”

But what exactly is leaving? Geographically, a country of course cannot change position, so there is no leaving its location. A political withdrawal seems to be the case, in lines with Article 50 of the EU. Then we get: “Do the people of the UK want to withdraw from the EU, according to Article 50?” This seems like a question we actually might be able to research, so let’s try to find an answer

Hypothesis

To form a good hypothesis, we should look at available data. Else we might as well be guessing. The history of the EU starts in 1957 (just like Japie). The UK had talks about joining in 1961, and applied in 1963 and 1967. Both times it was vetoed by France. After some changes in the UK, they reapplied in 1969, and finally signed the treaty in 1972. So, the UK is an EU member from 1973 onward. Here we see that the politicians in the UK did want to join the EU, and made quite an effort. Even against denial, they tried and tried again, and made changes where necessary. This leads to believe that, in the future, politicians will also put in great effort to acquire or retain EU membership status. After this, the people also wanted a say. Laws were made to allow national referenda, the first ever was held in 1975. This referendum was initiated by the people, not by

politicians. The people had to answer a yes/no question “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community?” A turnout of roughly 65%, resulted in 67% yes. Thus, the UK stayed in the EU and EC. This leads to believe that if the people of the UK are given a choice, they’d want to remain in the EU. This can be used to form our hypothesis. Let’s state it in short form as: “The UK wants to stay in the EU.”

Predictions

With our hypothesis, we can try to predict what we think will happen. Let’s go back to early 2016: we’re in the UK, and there is speculation about leaving the EU. If we look at history, we suspect the politicians might choose like they did in the 1970s. To check this, we must see who are in power. The UK officially has a multi-party system, but there are two parties much larger than the others. These are the opposing parties Labour (centre-left) and Conservative (centre-right, “Tories”). During the initial application to the EU and the 1975 referendum, the Prime Minister of the UK was of the Labour party. In between, there was a Conservative PM. In 2016, there is again a Conservative PM: Boris Johnson (“BoJo”). Since these parties are opposing, we might think they have opposing interests, but that is not easy to say. Further, we’ll have a look at what the people will vote. Since the previous referendum is over 40 years ago, many voters of that time have passed away, and the voters who were young back then are old now, so the statistics changed. Luckily, an associate professor in politics at University of London put data of the 1975 referendum in graphs. Here is their conclusion: “In 1975, pro-leave voting was more common amongst those in younger age groups.” – dr. Ben Clements. Now we find a crucial detail: the younger people wanted to

leave, and the people who wanted to remain have since passed away. The younger people are old now, and will still be voting. They possibly have the same opinion. So, we might expect a high vote for leaving the EU.

Preparation

To test our hypothesis, and check our predictions, we must conduct some experiments. So grab your lab journal and write along. Looking back at previous results, talking with the EU about the possibilities seems like a good start. It would help us to see how both sides of politics feel

“There is ample proof of Russian funding” about this. Further, we need to find a way to get the people’s opinion on the idea(s). A referendum would be a good idea, like in 1975. And, to ensure the people know what they will be voting on, we will spend time and money educating them. We still need funding, as research is not free. The political parties have budgets for things as rallying, and educating the people on choices and changes. But what if the budget finishes before the experiment? We can’t just stop an experiment halfway through, right? Luckily there are lobbyists willing to pay to push their standpoints. But what if we still want or need more? We could ask some companies, but we’d have to be careful to not let them skew our results, nor push their own plans. So, we need to find neutral funding, but that’s difficult. We could look abroad, and get funding from less ethical, so we can at least complete our research. And so it happened: the Conservatives and

other “leave” parties, such as UKIP, got international funding. There is ample proof of Russian funding. Note that this is international meddling in national political issues, which is unethical and illegal. But it did help to finalize the experiment. So we could say, it was all in the name of science…

Experiments

Now we have a filled in lab journal, and enough funding, we can start our experiment. Put on your safety glasses, lab coat, and gloves, and step into our lab: the UK. First, we will start some talks with the EU about article 50 and leaving. We will also hold a referendum, to get the people’s opinion. With 72% turnout that yielded 52% “leave”. Now the political experiment is skewed, as it was a binding referendum. Different from 1975, more younger people voted “remain”. The “no”-voters of 1975 had aged, and were the “leave”-voters of 2016.

Interpretation/evaluation

The referendum showed the people wanted to leave, and that bound the politicians. But, the victory was only a marginal one, and afterwards the people claimed they did not really understand what they were voting on. So, this data does not seem conclusive enough to confirm or deny our hypothesis. More data should be acquired, preferably using a similar method. Therefore, I recommend a second referendum, after better educating the people.

WRITTEN BY:

Dimitri van Dam Dimitri wanted to share a humourful insight into a current political situation.

Chronicle of a

Knuffelbeer Carte Blanche

The Knuffelbeertjes are an indoor soccer team playing in the Totelos Internal Competition (TIC). Although the translation of Knuffelbeer reads ‘cuddle bear’, we aren’t very cuddly, at least not on the pitch. The team has a long history, but nobody knows when this team was founded exactly. All we know is that all members have been Japies and to continue this tradition we’re looking for new players. What follows is a chronicle from the life of a Knuffelbeer. Matchday. The Knuffelbeertjes are preparing for their toughest match so far in the Premier League of the TIC. The opponent has been analyzed thoroughly, but the players are nervous nonetheless. There is a lot on the line. After winning the title and a successful Champions League debut only a few seasons ago, recent successes have been scarce. The fans are complaining, the press is critical, Dick Advocaat is rumored to be the new head coach: trouble is brewing. Who was first – the Japie or the Knuffelbeer? Many stories are going around, but one thing we know for sure: the tale of the Knuffelbeertjes is long, beautiful, and successful. For times longer than one can remember, the Knuffelbeertjes have consisted of the most talented Japie members, who do not only excel using Erlenmeyer flasks or drawing titration calibration curves but also have steady ball control and don’t mind rolling up the sleeves on the pitch. These Japies are rare, but not unique. Considering the tense situation the team is in, the technical director has sent his scouts

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to the fields with only one task: find these special Japie’s, reel them in. No matter the costs. Let me introduce myself: my name is K. Beer. Profession: Japie, and currently studying to become a chemical engineer. In the season of 2014-2015, I joined the Knuffelbeertjes, by then still playing in the third division. I was recruited on one of the F.O.R.T. drinks on Thursday. I was young, naïve, afraid, but blessed with better skills than Lionel Messi himself, albeit in the field of organic chemistry. One promotion followed another, and suddenly we were playing with the big boys, fighting for the championships in stadiums filled to the brim with dedicated fans. After one sluggish season at the bottom of the table, the Leicester City dream became reality: the title was won against all odds, far ahead of the rest of the table. We managed to keep the team intact but further successes have been absent since, and now it is time for the next generation to lead the Knuffelbeertjes towards new glory.

At last, back to the beginning: Matchday. Teams are ready to take the field. The press has already speculated all possible results of this game. Toss of the coin, it will come down to the details, so teams need to be on the alert. The stadium speaker has announced the players, the crowd is ready, and it is time. Quick warming up, we only got 5 minutes. Each player has their routine: one is running, a few are shooting at the goalkeeper, one is on the toilet, and one is hungover and late. Kick-off! Immediate pressure from the opponent on the back: Knuffelbeertjes are in trouble. An attempt to play wide goes wrong…. ball on the crossbar! The Knuffelbeertjes keeper stands staggered – or did he just know this one was going on the crossbar? He doesn’t seem to care at all and continues the game quickly, throwing the ball to Niels. He controls and plays deep onto Bart. He twists and turns… It is in the top corner! What a dream start!

Or is it? Just a few minutes later and we’re behind. Two mistakes lead to quick goals. Maybe the pressure is too much for these young players, will they choke? But Knuffelbeertjes recover and start taking the upper hand again, dictating the game. The opponent is giving them some room. Big mistake. Alwin scores. Michiel scores. In the blink of an eye, we have taken the lead, but there are still 15 minutes to go. A lot can happen, and therefore it will (Murphy’s law is superior to all laws of nature). 10 minutes later, the score is 4-4. Stand-in coaches Indy and Rowan discuss: what to do? 1 point is not enough, but giving 3 points to your competition is not wise either. Who is on the bench? Mark, Douwe, Joost… They decide to bring them all, bold move! Will this fresh influx of energy, mass, and momentum result in an accumulation of goals? Dying seconds of the game, Joost dribbles into midfield. A one-two with Douwe (chemistry is over 99 today), the ball goes up towards the corner flag…. And it is in! Was that Johan Cruijf? It sure looked like it, but this guy talks as if from the south of the Netherlands – it is Camiel! But there is a quick kick-off and he is

not back in time, the opponent is oneon-one with Anne Ji! He is preparing to shoot… but is kicked down by Camiel from behind, surely that isn’t legal? The referee doubts and signals he needs some assistance. The man in the van is having a look. The crowd is crying, no tensile test can describe the atmosphere right now. But it was correct! The referee ends the match, Knuffelbeertjes win!

“blessed with better skills than Lionel Messi himself, albeit in the field of organic chemistry” Time for ’bitterballen’! A platter of yellow sports drinks is brought to the table. The atmosphere is good after a win. There is no more time for studying today, time to enjoy the afternoon with the squad and prepare to bring it once more for the

seasonal Knuffelbeertjes drink on Stratumseind later that day. The above story was a re-enactment of a game a few weeks ago. But it is a true story and the Knuffelbeertjes did win. Some parts have been exaggerated for dramatic purposes. Truth is, the Knuffelbeertjes is a football team playing in the Premier League of the Totelos Internal Competition (TIC). Each week they play a game of 25 minutes during the break. There is no training. We are looking for a few new Japie’s; if you feel like playing a match once a week in this team, let us know! Some skill in football is more than welcome. At the moment of writing the Knuffelbeertjes are still in the race for the title.

WRITTEN BY:

K. Beer (Rowan Appelman) Desperate as they are for new players, the Knuffelbeertjes want YOU! Mail to knuffelbeertjes@tsvjapie.nl

You can’t always get what you want. Beer of the Quartile

This great Rolling Stones song sadly turned out to be way too applicable for this edition of the Beer of the Quartile. Up until a few years ago, breweries on the craft beer scene would have big ranges of core products and the occasional special edition beer every now and then. However, as more and more people got to know the wonderful world of craft beers, breweries became bolder and started experimenting more and looking for ingredients and brewing methods outside the box. The result is that many breweries drastically shrank down their core range and switched to more seasonal and one-batch beers instead. And while most of the time we, stock managers, are quite happy with this change, as it helps us have a wide range of odd beers to introduce our guests as temporary beers, in this case, it made life quite a bit harder. For this to make sense, I feel like I should give an example.

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Nowadays, one-batch beers from certain breweries don’t even get to be in stock at the wholesalers. A lot of the time, these wonderful blissin-bottles are sold out before the bottles are actually filled with liquid happiness. This means that when the stock managers go looking for the new beer of the season, usually about ten weeks before the T-Licht is landing on your doormat, the beers that they buy may already not be available anymore at the wholesalers that are available to the F.O.R.T. Therefore, it gets more and more challenging to get the one-batch beers to the F.O.R.T. as a beer of the season. It, of course, gets even harder when the brewery of the beer of the season is one that is very well-known for brewing extremely yummy one-batch beers. The current beer of the season is one of those highly-anticipated once-in-a-lifetime potions, which is why sadly, it can probably not make it to the glasses of the guests of the F.O.R.T. anymore.

The fact that this beer was sold out before we even got to taste it properly will probably surprise you less when you know in which brewery’s kettles it originated. This beer comes from

“Now take that wonderful taste of childhood nostalgia and mix it with the firm taste that only a 14 percentage imperial Porter can have.” one particular brewery, which many of you will probably know either because of your great knowledge of Dutch breweries, or because you’ve been to the F.O.R.T. in the last two quartiles and saw that a Kees beer was on temporary once again (I may or may not have a slight addiction to them). Just as at the wholesalers, the temporary Kees beers in the F.O.R.T. would usually be gone within the first hour of the Thursday drink. The Kees brewery was founded back in 2015 by former Emelisse-brewer Kees Bubberman, whose motto of “Life’s too short for boring, middle of the road beers” is what can be seen

in every beer can that comes out of it – and for the record, Kees has only packaged their beers in cans for the past two years. Since Kees is a quite young brewery, it comes as no surprise that it is not located in a fancy old building in the centre of town. Instead, it is situated just south of Middelburg in an industrial area, right next to Eastman Chemicals – so if you’re looking for a job and enjoy the smell of freshly brewed amazing stouts or IPA’s in the air, you know where to go now. In the last two years in particular, Kees has gone all out on their OneBatch beers with both mind-blowing barrel-aged versions of their core assortment as well as crazy beers with flavours that leave you to wonder how the hell they achieved the taste. From mango-flavoured Milkshake IPA’s and blueberry cheesecake Imperial Stouts all the way to Stouts brewed with oysters, the brewery has managed to amaze their clients with their creativity again and again. Then let’s get onto the beer itself: It is a well-known fact that we, stock managers, have a not too well hidden soft spot in our hearts for dark and heavy beers. Another well-known fact is that we are human – you wouldn’t say, we know - and therefore by default must love desserts. This quartile we let ourselves indulge in quite a bit of both with our top choice.

As any good porter, it is smooth, slightly viscous and velvety. The smoothness extends from the appearance and feeling into the taste, and it very capably hides another fact about the Sticky Toffee Pudding Porter: that it is strong, very strong. The taste of this Pastry Porter can give you quite the trip down memory lane, all the way back to the good old days of spending time at your grandmother’s place as a child. Remember those caramel candies that your grandmother seemed to have an infinite supply of in one of her cupboards when you were a child – and probably still does? Now take that wonderful taste of childhood nostalgia and mix it

with the firm taste that only a 14 percentage Imperial Porter can have, and you get a perfect symphony for your senses. It must be said that the beer is intense in all its characteristics: it is sweet, viscous, heavy in both alcohol and awesomeness. However, if it all gets too much for you, and you don’t think you could drink a whole can of this brewed goodness, this beer is also a perfect example of a beer that deserves to be shared. That is also why, even though this particular Kees potion can not make it to the F.O.R.T., we are still very happy to share the experience of drinking (and sharing) this beer.

WRITTEN BY:

Vilena Petrova As Vilena went through some hardships with the next beer of the quartile, she wanted to share this with everyone.

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Excursion to Air Products Excursion

Air Products is one of the leading companies in the world in the production of gases. The company serves customers in a broad spectrum of markets, including energy, food, and healthcare. You can even find tanks from Air Products on the campus of the TU/e! Air Products is known for their corporate responsibility and efforts for the environment, being accredited by the Corporate Responsibility Magazine and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. The second excursion of the academic year was to Air Products in Rotterdam-Botlek. The travel via bus went smoothly, and we were warmly welcomed on site by the Northern Continent Operations Line Manager, who also studied Chemical Engineering in Eindhoven. Some interesting presentations followed about Air Products as a company, and about their graduate programme. This internationally oriented opportunity for after your studies consists of three assignments in three years and concludes with a guaranteed permanent position in Air Products. A lot of social events are also presented to the participants of the program to encourage bonding and networking. After these

presentations, we could have a chat while enjoying a nice lunch. When everyone had enjoyed their lunch, the group was told more about the plant itself. The site is one of the largest hydrogen production facilities of Air Products, and has a lengthy pipeline across Rotterdam and the Botlek. The plant is characterized by its extremely high reliability, always providing enough hydrogen to the neighbouring customers. After this, we could enter the plant and walk around. While being provided helmets, vests and oxygen masks, we could take a look ourselves at the beautiful facility that made everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technological heart run faster.

To end the day, the group went to an external location for a concluding drink. Some nice refreshing drinks were served, accompanied by luxurious bites. This provided a nice opportunity to ask any remaining questions to the employees of Air Products, and have a generally entertaining chat. Even a former Japie member who is now in the graduate programme was present to give us some inside information about the course of events within Air Products. In conclusion, this impressive excursion was very well organised by Air Products. Thank you for welcoming us!

WRITTEN BY:

Tijmen van Veen Tijmen wanted to tell the association how the excursion to Air Products went.

The Destiny of the Hard Cup Carte Blanche

Out of all the sustainability measurements the TU/e has taken, the introduction of hard cups may have been the most effective one. At every festival or party on campus terrain, the well-known single-use plastic cups have been thrown away. In their place, new printed hard cups of durable plastic have come, which can be reused. But has this change been successful, and where lies the future of these environmental-friendly cups? Since the Introduction Week, the ‘hype’ has taken over TU/e. The system works in the following way. Like always, you buy coins at the counter since this is the currency used at parties. Where normally a beer costs one coin, you now pay an extra one for the cup. This you do only once, since the cup can get a refill. At the end of the night, you can swap an

empty cup for a last consumption in a ‘regular’ soft cup. Currently, multiple variations are going around. One with the distinctive Eindhoven stripes and the one with gears has been added during MomenTUm. For genderneutrality, both are available in black and in white. After successful

deployment at several occasions, the cup will stay for a longer time around campus. Personally, I’m very fond of these new cups and not only because the amount of thrash has reduced significantly. Cursor already made an article in which the effects of these cups are being discussed, so I will not go into this ‘save the world’ talk. No, the hard cups are multifunctional and I have discovered some handy ways to get more out of this new system. First of all, you can take the cups home. In my student house, we were short on glasses after some broke. Luckily, MomenTUm was around the corner delivering some fresh liquid holders for at home. Although this may be very ‘skeer’, it is a way to make this innovation useful outside the campus area. Besides, I did not need to make an extra trip towards the store just for some glasses. Doing groceries at a party, who would have thought the future would turn out this way? Having the glasses at home, directly brings me to the second additional use the inventors probably did not think of. In case you do get new real glasses, you can always hand in the hard cups at the next festival. Where

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coins always lose their value after the party is over, the cups are worth the same after time has passed. Its value will probably even increase, since the prices of drinks will rise over time. No need to buy coins next time you have a special occasion at TU/e, because the coins are already in your cupboard. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to skip the queues and directly go to the bar? Also, when you have bought too many coins at the previous party and are not capable of finishing all of them. First, you should think twice about how much you really drink on a single evening. Secondly, you just change the coins into cups. Getting refunds in Euro’s is probably not possible, so this is the best way to get value for your money.

“Luckily, MomenTUm was around the corner delivering some fresh liquid holders for at home.” Also, at the party itself I have discovered multiple advantages over normal cups. The chances of getting a beer shower have minimized. People are not going to throw the last layer of beer at a random point in the crowd anymore. Doing this would mean, the person hit is paid with an extra drink or snack. And we students don’t like to literally throw money away. This does not mean you are guaranteed to go home clean. A small bump or being a sloppy drinker will still result in some beer spilled over you. Besides the disappearance of beer

showers, you get a clear overview of how many coins you still have left. Although not everybody uses this tactic, I now always directly spend a great deal of my coins on cups. Already having one cup means one hand will be filled and be unfunctional, so why not add extra cups? I don’t have to search my wallet with a hard cup in my mouth to get an extra free hand anymore. However, back in the days of the soft cups the cup could directly be removed after being emptied, making it possible to rock your full body to the beat. Also, the act of searching for your remaining coins can then be executed like a normal human being does. Additionally, when you want to get a snack, the stacked cups are also less useful than regular coins. So whenever I feel hungry, I have to horribly maneuver myself to get some coins, because you cannot use the cups as a currency at food stands. Still I prefer having the stacked cups over single cups both hard or soft. Note, I do not make stacks of 10 glasses but 5 at a time. There is maximum at which drinking is still doable.

you should see yourself what kind of cup you prefer.

The last argument for me personal is about the taste of beer out of this kind of cups. Whereas with the old cups a plastic taste always entered my mouth, which made some of the bad beers taste better for some reason, this is not the case anymore. The hard cups are closer to a regular glass, which I see as the ultimate way to drink a beer. Nevertheless, this remains a subjective argument and

Douwe Orij

It turns out the hard cups have more pros than cons for me, which leads to my conclusion that the introduction of it was an improvement. The future is bright for this new addition to the TU/e standards. However, this does not mean the soft cups will totally vanish from our campus. As mentioned, the last drinks will be served in soft cups. Therefore, the soft cup won’t cease to exist. Even if these cups are environmental-friendly there is still room for improving the sustainability. Currently, taking the cups home and thus luring the students to the next TU/e occasion is not the way to go. Maybe in the future, some Industrial Design student will make a whole series of glasses making it a collector’s item. Just like the CocaCola glasses at McDonald’s. Until then, we will stick to the black and white editions.

WRITTEN BY:

Douwe has made the newly introduced hard cup multifunctional and wanted to share how he achieved this.

Get your facts straight. Letting off some steam

Sometime after the summer break, a new problem seemed to have emerged in the Netherlands. While students were preoccupied with the commencement of the new academic year or the pleasant weather slowly disappearing, seemingly out of nowhere the Netherlands became the center of a true “Nitrogen-crisis”. The chemical background of this story made me look at it with greater interest.

Some of you reading this will have seen the “Zondag met Lubach” episode of October 20 (which I highly recommend watching!) and claim I am merely regurgitating his words. However, I assure you that we at the T-Licht have had the brainstorm for this edition prior to the episode airing, so no copycats here fortunately. Of course, I support all farmers/ builders/[insert harmed profession here] and I understand that it must feel devastating to hear some politician tell you from their ivory tower that you cannot continue with your work in the way you’ve been passionately doing for the past few decades. However, it has been scientifically proven that if we want to continue living in this world as it is, some things just simply have to change to ensure the planet stays habitable. The scientific truth of the entire discussion is not what angers me though.

“Of course, I support all farmers/builders/[insert harmed profession here].” What does annoy me, is that everywhere in the news, people are discussing a supposed “nitrogencrisis”. They are talking about it as if nitrogen is this toxic chemical that will kill all living creatures on this planet and not as a natural gas that is supposed to be there. I am afraid that if you were to ask around on the streets nowadays and ask people how much nitrogen should be in the air around them, most of them would respond with answers like “as little as possible” instead of “somewhere around 78%”. I understand the news must be comprehensible for

the majority of people, but saying nitrogen is the problem is simply not true. Sure, nitrogen-derivatives like NOx are greenhouse gasses and their emission from certain processes is a problem, but then mention that and not the nitrogen in general. The bottom-line is, this whole “nitrogen-crisis” made me realize that there are probably also terms in the news that I consider to be correct, but for someone who knows more about it finds it just as frustrating as this nitrogen debate is to me. My takehome lesson is to always stay critical and read some more on a certain subject before just blindly following the news.

WRITTEN BY:

Bart van den Bersselaar Bart heard the untruths in the news about nitrogen and wanted to emphasize the importance of staying critical about what you hear around you.

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Flavors of the Season Chemistry in real life

From the mix of spices in your warm glühwein, to the fizz of champagne in your glass, there are a multitude of chemical compounds working their magic on your taste buds and making their festive yet familiar presence felt at this time of year. Here’s a closer look at what constitutes our favorite flavors of the holiday season and their past and potential uses.

Benzaldehyde

A confection you either love or hate, marzipan is one of the defining tastes of Christmas desserts, found around the world from seasonal cakes to amaretti biscuits, even featuring prominently within Dutch cuisine itself, in the forms of banketstaaf and kerststol. The compound that gives this treat its distinctive almond flavor is, in fact, benzaldehyde, the most widely employed aldehyde in food chemistry. The vast majority of the chemical on the market is synthetic, mainly manufactured through liquid phase chlorination and subsequent oxidation of toluene. The small percentage that is naturally occurring is extracted from ‘bitter almond’, so named for its higher cyanide content; as little as 10 bitter almonds could be

enough to deliver a lethal dosage to the average human. Benzaldehyde is not just used extensively in foods and fragrances. Analine dyes, regularly used within the fabrics industry, contains benzaldehyde as one of its key components. A more surprising, niche use of the compound is in beekeeping. Here, benzaldehyde becomes a repellent, to drive bees away from their honeycomb and allows for easier extraction of honey. This method benefits both the bees and the beekeeper in the long-term, as it does no harm to the insects themselves, but they remain unwilling to be in close proximity to the compound. Benzaldehyde has become such a staple of our lives that most of us

actually breathe out trace amounts of the compound, both from the material we consume and through the breakdown of other compounds in the digestive system. The presence of benzaldehyde and other crucial chemicals in human breath could possibly change the way future detectors work to alert search and rescue teams to signs of life in disasters.

Eugenol

Gluhwein, Christmas pudding, gingerbread, even festive candles, you know the underlying aroma of this festive spice before you have tasted it. The compound responsible is eugenol, a phenylpropene found in cinnamon and nutmeg, but most closely resembling the smell of cloves. With its relatively simple molecular structure, it has a plethora of uses commercially, ecologically, and medically, and its use is no recent development, having been used in pain-relief for thousands of years. Eugenol has been found to prevent bacterial growth in food and has

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shown to possess antifungal and antiparasitic effects. Cloves, or more specifically their eugenolrich oil, were used in dentistry as an anesthetic, and recent research has shown that this chemical truly does have a major influence over our pain receptors. However, with this knowledge comes a better

â&#x20AC;&#x153;most of us actually breathe out trace amounts of the compound.â&#x20AC;? understanding of the compoundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential negative side effects. It is damaging to cells, or cytotoxic, in high concentrations and prolonged exposure can cause sensitivity. Although its use in fragrances is frequent, it is restricted by the International Fragrance Association for its potential for allergic reactions, so you can have your Christmas cake and eat it too, but in moderation.

Carbon dioxide

Popping open a bottle of bubbles on the first day of the new year is a ritual for many, as champagne has become a symbol of joy and celebration, except maybe for the person who gets hit by the flying cork. It is estimated that a single bottle of champagne contains up to 5 liters of carbon dioxide which explains both the high pressure inside as well as the eruption of fizz when you open one up. The components of this celebratory drink are simple in nature, but brought together in a process that requires consistency and careful attention to detail. Adding sugar and yeast to a white wine is the primary stage of making champagne, in that as the yeast microorganisms digest glucose, carbon dioxide is released, dissolving in the wine and forming the bubbles; the more sugar is added, the larger and the greater the number of bubbles. These bubbles do not actually form in the bottle until it is opened, reducing the pressure and permitting gas particles to suddenly convene out of the solution. Even more bubbles are formed as the champagne comes into contact with imperfections on the interior of the champagne glass,

a process comparable to the famous Mentos-in-Cola trick. After getting the sludge of yeast corpses (called lees) out of the neck of the bottle, the winemaker will add in sugar or more champagne to transition it into a certain flavor profile. One of the main reactions that subsequently follows is the Maillard reaction, well-known for its part in toasting bread and caramelizing onions. With respect to champagne, the Maillard reaction creates a biscuity flavor throughout the ageing period. After that, the bottle is secured and sealed with a cork, ready to be enjoyed. Proost!

WRITTEN BY:

Aaryana Kunte Aaryana wanted to teach the readers something about the chemistry behind the delicious food we have during Christmas.

Wie zegt mij dat ik beter af ben Wie zegt mij bij Mourik? dat ik beter af ben bij Mourik?

Denk je aan een nieuwe baan in de infrastructuur of industrie? Waar kijk je dan naar? Bij Mourik zeggen we: “Praat gewoon met de mensen die bij Mourik werken.” Vraag ze naar hun ervaringen en het vertrouwen dat je krijgt bij Mourik. Over de ruimte die er is voor jouw vakmanschap en ondernemerschap. Je toekomstige collega’s staan voor je klaar! Ontmoet ze op www.werkenbijmourik.com. Mourik. Het betere werk. Denk je werkt aan een baan bodem-, in de infrastructuur of industrie? Waar Mourik aannieuwe een betere lucht- en waterkwaliteit. kijk je dan naar? Wil je weten hoe?Bij BijMourik Mourikzeggen zeggenwe: we:“Praat “Praatgewoon gewoonmet metde demensen mensen die bij Mourik werken.” Vraag ze naar hun ervaringen en het vertrouwen vertrouwen dat je krijgt bij Mourik. Over de ruimte die er is voor jouw vakmanschap MOURIKen ondernemerschap. INFRA personeelsadv 210x270 fc-DEF.indd 1 en ondernemerschap. Je toekomstige collega’s toekomstige collega’s staan staan voor voor je je klaar! klaar! Ontmoet ze op www.werkenbijmourik.com. Mourik. Het betere werk.

03-12-18 17:07

Molecular drills against ‘superbugs’ Science News

With the increase of super bacteria that are resistant to many different types of medicine, researchers are doing their best to find a way to counteract these bugs. It is estimated that these bacteria may take over cancer in the number of deaths caused by 2050 if nothing is done about them. Recently, a completely alternative way has been found to counteract their resistance. Bacteria can become resistant to medicine in three different ways: They can modify the antibiotic molecule by producing enzymes that inactivate the drug by adding chemical moieties or by destroying the molecule outright. They can decrease the permeability of antibiotics through their membranes, blocking the antibiotics from entering completely. Lastly, they can develop resistance by avoiding the action of the antibiotic completely. This can be done by mutating, protecting or outright replacing the target site. This combination of possibilities gives bacteria many different ways to counteract different drugs. And with the number of mutations they have and the possibility of bacteria to transfer genes in-between each other, resistance can occur relatively fast. There are of course ways to counteract the resistance in the bacteria, or at least have the develop resistance at a slower rate. Just by using fewer antibiotics and taking care of our personal hygiene. To counteract the bacteria that do achieve resistance to

a drug, a new way has been found to make drugs able to permeate through the membrane, even if it is normally not possible. By making use of very fast, lightactivated, spinning molecules that disrupt the cell membranes of bacteria, drugs that normally would not be able to permeate through can become effective again. These ‘nanodrills’ are not only useful for destroying cell walls of bacteria, but also for destroying select cells in the human body, like cancer cells. These drills work like many other nanomachines. A stationary part of a molecule called a stator is attached to a rotor with light-induced actuation. The molecular nanomachines used had high rotation speeds, from two to three million revolutions per second. Different additions can be made to the stator to create these machines for different situations. This has been done with triphenyl phosphonium, as the molecule targets eukaryotic mitochondria.

It will not be very long untill we will be seeing many different superbugs that have many different ways of attacking our bodies. Lets hope the improvements in medicinal science can fight against them.

WRITTEN BY:

Teun Prinsen Teun wanted to tell everyone somehting about the inevitable consequences of using antibiotics and how we are trying to cancel them.

A board year at Wervingsdagen Carte Blanche

Japie provides several career-related activities like lunch lectures or excursions. However, career-related activities are not only organized for a specific study, but also for the whole university. These activities are provided by a joint initiative of nine study associations called Wervingsdagen. This year, two members of Japie are in the board of Wervingsdagen; Fabiënne Lucas and Boris Zwaan, who will give you an insight into their life as a board member of Wervingsdagen.

Fabiënne

My name is Fabiënne Lucas and I am a fourth-year student of our department. In my first year, I was a member of the freshmen committee (together with board member Jord) and in my second year I joined the activity committee as chairman (with board members Tijmen and Roy). At the end of the previous year, I started to think about doing a board year. What I like most about my board

T-Licht Issue 24.2

year at Wervingsdagen is that I can get in touch with a lot of companies from several industries and the study associations as well. Within the team, my main functions are External Affairs, Digital Affairs, and Public Relations. I spend most of my time with the first function, External Affairs. Unlike most of the study associations, our board changes at the end of June. This is because the subscriptions for companies for the Career Expo and Interviewing Days open around the start of August. Therefore, we spent a lot of time during the summer at our office called “De Zaak”, but this also meant a lot of time to get to know each other and the associated study associations. You may wonder, why would you open the subscriptions (for companies) for these events so early? That is because a lot of preparations take place before the events. After contacting our database of around 600 companies and contacting new interesting companies with input from the study associations, the company selection is

made. The next step is to gather all the desired information for the company guide which you will recognize to the blue cover for the Career Expo and green cover for the Interviewing Days. Also, a lot of information should be gathered for our Event Coordinators which are responsible for the logistics of our event. Besides this, it is important to keep in touch with the companies while keeping them up-to-date on our daily tasks. The last, but maybe the most important part which is in combination with my function Digital Affairs, is to match the students to the companies. Students can subscribe for speed dates during the Career Expo and for personal interviews, informal lunches and dinners with a drink, and interactive company cases during the Interviewing Days. Companies can select students based on their CV, and each year it is very grateful to hear that students found their dream internship or job at our events!

Since we spent a lot of time preparing these events, it is also important to attract students to our events. This is the responsibility of Public Relations, which gives you a lot of freedom to come up with promotion ideas. Last year they came up with socks to promote the Skill Sessions, and this year we handed out Tony Chocolonely’s chocolate bars after you subscribed for the Skill Sessions. For now, I pass the baton to our chairman so he can tell more about his daily tasks and our events.

Boris

My name is Boris Zwaan and I’m a fourth-year student as well. Besides my studies, I’ve always been active at Japie and other organizations within the TU/e. In short: I like to do stuff besides my studies! Halfway through my third year I was really looking forward to doing a board year. For me, it was very important to look into all possible options for a board year at TU/e, and what fits best with me. Throughout that year, I also came into contact with Wervingsdagen and the FSE. I was really doubting for a long time, because, together with Japie, all these three organizations offered very interesting, but totally different board years. It took me two months of talking a lot with former and current

board-members, thinking, and a lot of talking with my parents before I chose to apply for a board year at Wervingsdagen. Since the 20th of June 2019, I am the Chairman of the 39th board of Wervingsdagen. Within the team, I am responsible for the overview and division of tasks throughout the year. Besides that, I work on a lot of long-term projects, things that have to do with the vision and policy of Wervingsdagen; creating continuity. I also help my boardmembers a lot with all different kinds of tasks and keep myself updated on how they’re doing. Being interested in the work and activities of your fellow board members is, in my opinion, one of the most important tasks. Maintaining relations for TU/e bodies and external parties is also one of my tasks. Being the chairman, I always have a lot of meetings throughout the day with these parties. One week ago; I had a meeting with Cursor, Studium Generale, ESA, someone from facility management and with the Dean Graduate School all on one day! The fact that I see the TU/e, and get to know the internal structure of our university is something I like doing a lot. Having contact with all different study associations, and seeing their diversity is also something I like a lot!

At last, it is my job to keep in contact with all other bodies of Wervingsdagen; the Supervisory Board (one deputy from all participating study associations, this is Roy at Japie), the Advisory Board and the Financial Control Committee. Every month, we come together to discuss the plans and financials the board made. Good communication is of key importance here, as you (in Dutch): “alle neuzen dezelfde kant op wil hebben”. Doing this also involves a lot of bureaucracy, which is very fun. Sometimes, I do miss the fact that I’m not as much in contact with the members of Japie as I was before, or would have been if I’d done a board year at Japie. But overall, I’m glad that I chose to do a board year at Wervingsdagen, as I now see and do something for all students at the TU/e.

WRITTEN BY:

Boris Zwaan & Fabiënne Lucas The 39th board of Wervingsdagen wanted to give you an insight into their daily lives.

Interview with

Norbine Schalij Interview

Of course, the editorial board loves to write articles, check them, paste them into the T-Licht and publish our piece of hard work. But, sometimes we have to look up to the people that do these kind of things more regularly, better and with loads of enthusiasm. This inspired us to step out of our comfortable department and go to the editorial staff of Cursor to interview Norbine Schalij. Not everyone will know Norbine, but we are sure that most of you will recognize her. This can be because of you saw her during Cursor on Tour @ Helix last April, because you caught her reporting during an activity, or simply because you saw her

wandering over the campus, looking for the new best headline.

Norbine, how did you end up at Cursor?

I used to be a teacher at high school teaching geography and biology. After ten years, I wanted to make a switch into another field. I decided to attend a part-time journalism study. For my graduation project, I asked Cursor if I could do an article. Afterwards, multiple colleagues got pregnant after each other, which I was allowed to replace. Afterwards, I got offered a permanent job. This was in 2009. It hit off right away and I still really like the atmosphere here. After two years, I started to see connections in the university and I didn’t want to leave anymore.

Why the swith from education to journalism?

Journalism is the same as being a teacher . You know things that you want to spread. In the classroom you do this verbally and to a whole group, as journalist you write it down for one reader. But, this has the same drive. You want to pass on knowledge.

T-Licht Issue 24.2

What is your favorite and least favorite part about being with Cursor?

I love to get to know people. I want to listen to what people have to say and spread this. My least favorite thing is everything that happens after I write an article. For me, my work is done when I write my last sentence. But for Cursor, there is an entire aftermath like translating, finding pictures and shooting a video. I am very textoriented and not image-oriented.

What is your most sensational article?

I am very intrigued by the subject of waste and waste management. I went to Renewi in Acht, together with video-maker Fabian Lucas Luijckx, which was a real eye-opener. Per person, we produce about 76 kilograms per year of waste, which is big operation to manage. [1] An interview that was very exceptional was an interview with tailor Vân Nguyên. Vân makes the suits of a lot of boards on the TU/e. I was actually told that she was present by Fabrice Fontein, former Japie board member . I met her by accident and we had a wonderful talk of about an hour. She’s a peculiar woman. [2]

“Journalism is the same as being a teacher. You know things that you want to spread” In April 2019, Cursor was on tour in the Helix. How was that?

Very cold! Cold, but also very educative. For us this was the first time, so we did not exactly know what to do. We were not approached as much as we hoped, and we learned a lot from that. Apart from that, it was a lot of fun.

What do you remember the most?

The Thursday drink in the F.O.R.T. was a lot of fun, you have a lot of nice beers. I also liked the lecture of Bert Meijer, he is a very inspiring man.

What is the big difference between working with employees and students?

I actually see three groups: students, employees and old men or women. I like the old men the most. They know so much about the university and its people. I hang on every word they speak. For me, there isn’t that much difference between employees and students. In both cases, I speak the active ones; the people that want to speak with Cursor and do something spectacular besides their studies. I don’t speak the students that get in the train back to Venlo at five o’clock, but the same holds for employees. What I do like to see is the stayovers. For example, I met Erik de Jong (TU/e community manager) as a student of the built environment . Now I regularly speak him because of the things he organizes, like the Christmas market.

You were a participant of Maestro TU/e, how was that?

Amazing. I really love classical music. When I was 18, I had a boyfriend that introduced me to it and since then I am hooked. I actually got invited by Quadrivium to write an article about Maestro. During this talk, I boldly asked if I could be in the jury. This sadly wasn’t allowed, since they wanted judges that actually know what they were doing. A few days later I received an e-mail with the question if I wanted to join as a participant. I had to practice a lot, especially since I can’t read the music scores, but it was worth it.

Do you have a final advice for the Japie members?

Quickfire Questions Favorite holiday destination? The Alpes. Nature, hiking, sweating. What do you bring to a deserted island? My e-reader with 1.000 books. Favorite food? Thai food. Robert-Jan Smits or Frank Baaijens? Frank. He always gives me a nice feeling and comes to people openly.

Participate in everything you can! This way, you get to know people that are active in different fields and did completely different things, which is important as well.

What do you still want to learn? Learn to do Bridging better.

WRITTEN BY:

Your house is on fire, what do you bring outside? My bicycle key. This is next to the front door and you should not go back in for stuff in case of fire!

Roy Wink & Bart van den Bersselaar

Favorite beer? I love IPA’s. Currently my favorite is Orchestra of Angels.

Bart and Roy wanted to turn the tables and interview Norbine for a change.

T-Licht 24.2

Articles inside

Wist je datjes

Excursion: Croda

Internship: A look in an engineering and con

PhD Article: Membranes for a sustainable

Interview: Norbine Schalij

Science news: Molecular drills against ‘super bugs

Carte Blanche : A board year at Wervingsdagen

Chemistry in real life: Flavors of the season

Letting of some steam: Get your facts straight

Excursion: Air Products

Carte Blanche: The Destiny of a Hard Cup

Beer of the Quartile: You can’t always get what you want

Carte Blanche: Dies Week

By the Chairman: Stand Out

Education: Why are you studying?

Carte Blanche: Chronicle of a Knuffelbeer

Chemistry in media: Synthesis and prepara tion of Unobtanium

ChefCie: Cordon Bleu Wellington

Carte Blanche: Brexit, a poor separation

From the Lock-up: People during lectures