TU/e Field of Specialization
Electrical Energy Systems at TU/e
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is a research university specializing in engineering science & technology. It was founded 55 years ago. It provides for 12 three-year Bachelor’s programs, 28 two-year Master’s degree programs and 8 two-year designer programs. It has 4.800 BSc students (3% international), 2.800 MSc students (18% international), 200 technological designers (PDEng) and 1,100 doctoral candidates (PhD).
TU/e comprises nine departments and Electrical Engineering is one of them. The Department of Electrical Engineering teaches highly motivated masters of science, designers and doctoral candidates, and carries out breakthrough research in its field. The department has three spearheads: Connected World, Care and Cure, and Smart Sustainable Systems. These themes are reflected in the department’s nine capacity groups and Electrical Energy Systems is one of them.
The mission of the Electrical Energy Systems (EES) group is to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society through research and education that enables the understanding and development of know-how and technologies needed for the supply and efficient use of electrical energy as part of sustainable, renewable energy systems. The EES group provides for a wide range of bachelor and master courses. The group consists of some 45 full-time and part-time staff (professors, associate professors, assistant professors, post docs, PhDs, guests and technical support). In 2010 the group had 6 PhD defenses, 15 MSc theses and an output of over 100 scientific contributions.
The research program of the EES group is split-up in three disciplines:
• Intelligent power grids (Smart Grids and Smart Components) which are needed to integrate distributed and sustainable generation. Focus is on design methodologies for active distribution networks and residential energy systems with adaptive control systems, demand response, and smart sensors and diagnostics for components. The design has to take into account requirements as: power quality, reliability, balancing of power and providing services in a liberalized market.
• Disturbance free design (EMC) is needed to enable a reliable all electric society. Research topics include: EMC modeling and parameter detection for models coupled to cables and systems; design of protective structures; sensors with high EMC quality built in for special purposes and lightning related phenomena.
• Process control (Pulsed Power technology) is needed for the efficient and sustainable processing, for instance (re)cycling of material flows. Pulsed power technology concerns three interrelated systems: power modulator, interfacing plasma and target process. Research focuses on the three underlying competence areas: plasma physics, pulsed power technology and chemical process technology.
The EES group operates a Pulsed Power / High-Voltage laboratory, a Power Quality laboratory and an EMC laboratory including a reverberating chamber (shown on the pictures). They are assisted by a clean room, an electronic workshop and a mechanical workshop. Personnel are well trained and have a broad experience in Electrical Power engineering, Pulsed Power, Power Quality, EMC and the related diagnostics.
TU/e Business and Entrepreneurship
The entrepreneurship-related research and teaching activities within SELECT+ will be led by the Innovation, Technology Entrepreneurship & Marketing (ITEM) group, which is part of the department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences at the Eindhoven University of Technology. The group consists of some 49 full-time and part-time staff (professors, associate professor, assistant professors, post doc, PhDs, guests and support). In 2010 the group had 9 PhD defenses and delivered 33 MSc theses. In terms of entrepreneurship teaching, the ITEM group has experience in conducting both Summer Schools and various trainings for the technology PhD students, and in conducting the yearly unique course on Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management for management and business PhD students. As the identified business school is embedded in a technology university (TU/e) it results in a deep understanding of the engineering mindset.
The research program of the ITEM group focuses on New Business and New Product Development Processes and is one of the leading programs in the world in terms of quality, impact, productivity and societal relevance (QANU Research Review 2010). The group includes world leading experts in the field of new product development (prof.dr. F. Langerak and prof.dr. A. Di Benedetto) and entrepreneurship (prof.dr. S. Romme and prof.dr. G. Duysters). Moreover, the group has recently taken two prominent scholars in entrepreneurship (prof.dr. S. Shane) and innovation (prof.dr. A. Griffin) on board as visiting professors.
The group has strong collaborative ties with leading firms (e.g., Philips and ASML) and institutions (e.g. High Tech Campus) in and around the high-tech Brainport ecosystem providing the group with a solid basis for conducting research that is relevant for society. The societal relevance of the group’s research is furthermore secured through the group’s close cooperation with national innovation networks such as Syntens, the Product Development and & Management Association, as well as TU/e’s Technology Transfer Office (InnovationLab) and Brabant Centre for Entrepreneurship (BCE). BCE is a regional centre for entrepreneurship that the TU/e hosts jointly with the University of Tilburg. This already existing infrastructure will be utilized by the Virtual Entrepreneurial Incubator as part of SELECT+.
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