- Research
- 01/03/2019
Science talk with smooth charisma and expressive body language
Good scientists aren’t necessarily successful public speakers. Who combines the charisma of a smooth-talking television presenter with the expressive body language of a stage actor? Who is most successful at selling his or her research with an absorbing story? The answers to these questions will be given during Famelab, a pitch battle, on March the 12th.
Famelab offers ambitious students and scientists at TU/e a new podium to present their research. Each candidate has three minutes to persuade the audience and jury that they are the best speakers.
Tu/e follows in the wake of other Dutch universities who have been taking part in this international event since 2014. Famelab is an international competition for young scientists in science communication in which thirty-one countries participate. This year, the Netherlands is represented by seven universities. Each university organizes its own preliminary rounds.
Eight candidates will hold a pitch at Tu/e (read more about two of them below). Subjects range from sustainable energy transition to innovative solvents. The two best candidates move on to the national finals in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht on Thursday, May 9. Which speaker will grab the attention of the audience from start to finish? Who will radiate calm and strength? Who will offer the audience a unique experience?
Eye contact
Not every scientist or student practices their facial expressions in front of a mirror each day. Eye contact, posture, gestures, intonation and breathing sometimes come naturally. And with these much-needed talents, candidates will speak to audiences about often complicated scientific matters in a comprehensible and entertaining way.
The winners of the national finals will travel to the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK.
They will also participate in a masterclass hosted by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in cooperation with the British Council.
Famelab: Tuesday, March 12, TU/e building Luna, Coronazaal. From 19:00 to 21:00. Free entrance.
Wies Ruyters: ‘Finding a balance between technology and plain language’
At twenty, Wies Ruyters is the youngest off all candidates participating in Famelab. It was just a small step from her high school in Eindhoven to the TU/e campus. Just before she started with her third year Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, she fell und the spell of Team SOLID.
“Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences doesn’t exactly offer me the opportunity to explore my creativity. As marketing manager of Team SOLID, I do get to be creative, which I enjoy very much. When we started, we had three students working for the Marketing subteam part-time, so we didn’t really make progress. That’s why I’ve put my third year on hold temporarily. More like a stay of execution really,” she says laughingly. “I don’t quite know yet what I want to do with the rest of my life, so I’ve decided to postpone my choice for the future for a while. Now, I really enjoy working for the team.”
Returning to Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences will not be a problem, Ruyters assures. “When I walk past the library at MetaForum and see everyone studying, I feel that itch again. I enjoy studying, so I have no worries.”
She describes SOLID as a “tight team where you feel at home.” An ideal combination with her fascination for sustainable technology and energy transition. The multidisciplinary team is developing a system that enables sustainable energy storage using iron powder. Research started several years ago and according to Wies, developments have gained momentum.
Finding publicity
As marketing manager, Wies maintains relations with the outside world. She designs posters, gives interviews, consults with the (communication)partners of Team SOLID, among them TU/e and several small and medium-sized companies in the Eindhoven region. Wies looks for the best kind of publicity in which each partner within the consortium receives all the credit they deserve. “To accomplish this, communication between partners needs to be transparent. It also improves the cooperation between the parties.”
She considers her participation in Famelab a learning process. “I am the only fulltime board member on our team without a technical background, but I’m always center stage to tell the story. Famelab offers me the opportunity to speak in front of a large audience and I also receive feedback. Yes, that’s pretty scary. I always get a little nervous when I have to speak in front of an audience. When I’m really excited about something, like Team SOLID, it doesn’t bother me so much. Then, I actually enjoy sharing my enthusiasm.”
Wies is going to perform her pitch in front of her roommates a couple of times first. She hopes to present a fluent and inspiring story come March. “I try to find the right balance between technology and plain language. If I manage that, I’ll be more than happy.”
Dannie van Osch: “Everything is chemistry”
Born and raised near science-based multinational DSM, - that makes the choice for Chemical Engineering pretty much self-explanatory, right? “Yes, I was born in Geleen and raised in Urmond. As a little boy, I would drive past DSM, now known as Chemelot Campus, on my bike each day. That roused my curiosity. What’s going on there? What are they making?”
He found the answers to these questions after he became a student at TU/e. Dannie van Osch started his Chemical Engineering studies in 2008 and got his Bachelor’s degree four years later. Two years later, he obtained his Master’s degree with honors. During his traineeship, Maaike Kroon (who was full professor of separation technology at the time) asked him to partake in a doctoral research on ‘deep eutectic solvents’ (DESs).
“In plain language, I prefer to say that ‘innovative solvents’ make these new separation methods possible. They offer many advantages: less use of energy and less CO2 emissions,” Dannie says.
His love of chemistry? “Everything is chemistry,” Dannie explains as he lifts a small plastic cap and a pen from his desk. “Without chemistry, we wouldn’t be able to use these products on a daily basis. We often don’t realize this.”
When he was a PhD-student, he worked at making the recycling process of the European paper industry more sustainable. He believes the solution lies in the development of non-water-soluble DESs. “You mix two solids at a certain dose. The mixture will have a new melting point so that it can change into liquid at room temperature,” Dannie says in a rapid tempo and with great enthusiasm.
To him it’s a piece of cake, something to enjoy each and every day. “We still need to do a lot of research, but there are plenty of possibilities. In the near future, we will be able to realize a bio-based economy with natural components. We also see that deep eutectic solvents have a lower volatility. They have lower vapor pressure and that has a positive effect on safety since they have lower flammability.”
Innovative field
During one of his most recent projects, Dannie tested combinations of over five hundred solids. Seventeen proved functional. In 2015, the first publication on his research appeared and it has been cited 98 times so far. “It’s a great solvent. I want to make that clear to other scientists. It’s a very innovative field. Many chemistry scientists are hardly aware of it, or not at all. That’s what I want to change with my pitch. You can remove metal ions from water, you can solubilize CO2 in it, and you can use it to remove contamination from water.”
See the video that Dannie van Osch made here
Dannie is quite used to pitches and public performances. He gives presentations on chemistry to high school students on a regular basis and delivers lectures to their teachers. “Science doesn’t always have to be complicated,” Dannie believes. He prefers to share his enthusiasm for chemistry in simple and plain language.
His desire for a greener world isn’t restricted just to talks. He has changed fields and is now active, for four days a week, as a post graduate for the LIBERATE-project of InSciTe, a project in which, among others, TU/e and start-up Vertoro are involved. Dannie spends the fifth day of his working week at this small Eindhoven-based company. “We want to develop a ‘game changer’ by making an oil from one of the components of wood-like biomass.”
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