Joining forces, taking responsibility & enabling transformation!
On Thursday, 03 October 2024 we celebrate the work we have done on Sustainability @ TU/e, we create a Sustainability network, we spotlight Sustainability in Education and we discuss ways to move forward the transition with known change agents Mark van Baal, Marjan Minnesma, Isabelle Reymen and Anna Wieczorek. Join us and get inspired, informed and connected during the TU/e Sustainability Day!
The program of the Day is presented below. Want to sign up or be updated: please register here or contact us via email: sustainability@tue.nl.
#SustainableTUe team
Note: We are organizing this event in accordance with the TU/e Sustainable Events Policy to minimize our CO2 footprint and to avoid waste. Therefore, we kindly ask you to register in advance so we will be able to customize all quantities.
Program Information - Sustainability Day TU/e
09:30 - 18:30 Exposition: Joining Forces
This exposition will highlight our Sustainability achievements, outline our future objectives and steps for reaching these goals. Immerse yourself in the blueprint of our Sustainability timeline, supporting the formation of new connections on this Sustainability Day. It's an excellent opportunity for both our internal and external community to showcase Sustainability projects and initiatives. Join forces to celebrate our shared successes and explore new collaborative pathways towards a Sustainable future.
09:30 - 10:00 Welcome coffee & registration for the network workshop
TU/e Auditorium - Voorhof
All guests of the exposition and the network workshop are invited for a welcoming drink.
10:00 - 12:00 Joining Forces - Creating a Sustainability Network
TU/e Auditorium - Senaatszaal
During this workshop we will join forces to create a map of our Sustainability network in the region. Together, we will build an overview of our network which will give all of us great insights into possibilities for expanding and strengthening collaborations between organizations and businesses from the South of the Netherlands and colleagues and students from the university. After the workshop you will go home with new ideas for future collaborations, and concrete connections with other parties involved, to continue the conversation.
12:00 - 13:00 Walking Lunch
TU/e Auditorium - Voorhof
All guests of the Network workshop, Exposition and Sustainability in Education Award are invited for a walking lunch.
12:30 - 13:00 Taking Responsibility - Handing out the Sustainability in Education Award
TU/e Auditorium - Senaatszaal
The Sustainability in Education Award recognizes the efforts of teachers and teaching groups who invest in educational development and direct their teaching toward addressing grand societal challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and biodiversity loss, among others. The top 3 nominees will be spotlighted and the Sustainability in Education Award will be handed over to the winner of 2024! Paul Koenraad and Ines Lopez Arteaga will be handing out the award to the finalist of this year.
Paul Koenraad is a member of the Photonics and Semiconductor NanoPhysics group in the Department of Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and acts as the Dean of the TU/e Graduate School. His research covers the study of nanostructures and impurities in III-V semiconductors. The work in the last five years has stretched from true atomic scale microscopy of semiconductor nanostructured materials to optical analysis of individual semiconductor nanostructures.
Paul is the Dean of the TU/e Graduate School and a program director of the Active Nanophotonics Devices program (€9m, part of the national nanotechnology trust NanoNextNL). In 2005 he was awarded a Vici subsidy from the research funding organization NWO for his research. Apart from his role as professor of semiconductor materials, Koenraad led the PSN group for ten years. Since 2013 he has also been dean of the Honors Academy of TU/e. In 2016 he become vice-dean of the Applied Physics department and in 2017 he became dean of the TU/e Graduate School
Ines Lopez Arteaga is a Full Professor at the Dynamics and Control group of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Chair of Acoustic and Noise Control at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Ines’ research focuses on optimal vibro-acoustic design of complex systems. Excessive noise levels affect the economic and technological development of Western countries in many ways. In 2020, noise pollution will be the main environmental problem in the Netherlands, surpassing air pollution as the main cause of environment-related health problems. Overexposure to noise can lead to, for example, heart attacks, high blood pressure or poor learning performance.
Ines Lopez Arteaga received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Navarra, San Sebastian, Spain. Until January 2001 she mainly worked on noise and vibration reduction in railway applications as a researcher at CEIT research institute, Spain. After this, she joined DAF Trucks in The Netherlands on noise analysis of cabin interiors using Statistical Energy Analysis, source localization using Near-field Acoustic Holography and later at INNAS BV (reduction of pressure pulsations from pumps). In 2002 she joined TU/e where she continued to work on Near-field Acoustic Holography and started the research on tyre/road noise at the group Dynamics and Control.
13:00 - 15:00 Symposium: Joining forces for smart change - What does it mean for universities?
TU/e Auditorium – Blauwe Zaal
Transitions to Sustainability involve radical changes in the way we live and meet our needs. These changes require both technical and social shifts, and each of us has a role to play. Sustainability transitions are not trivial, but they are not impossible either. We can draw inspiration from change agents like Marjan Minnesma, Mark van Baal, and Isabelle Reymen, who are driving momentum for Sustainability transitions in smart and novel ways. After the opening by prof.dr. Silvia Lenaerts, rector magnificus TU/e, our speakers will share their experiences with smart change and engage in a panel discussion on how all universities, researchers, and teachers can contribute to transitions and become socially relevant.
Silvia Lenaerts has led the Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology Group that she founded in Antwerp. The Belgian professor has also been vice-rector of Valorization & Development since 2016. In this role, she served as a catalyst and connector for Antwerp’s innovation ecosystem. Lenaerts held a large number of executive positions in the academic world and beyond, including on the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). She studied and obtained her PhD at KU Leuven and IMEC. She is the first female rector of TU/e.
Marjan Minnesma received Goldman Environmental Prize in 2022 for suing the Dutch government over its carbon emissions plans. She won this lawsuit, becoming the first woman to successfully sue a government over carbon emissions. Minnesma is the founder of Urgenda Foundation, which aims to accelerate transitions by concrete innovative projects.
Mark van Baal is the founder of Follow This, a group of green shareholders that has become Big Oil’s most influential shareholder. According to The Guardian, “Follow This is leading shareholder rebellions to tackle the climate crisis.” Follow This forced six oil companies – Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Phillips 66, and Chevron – to promise to reduce their product emissions (Scope 3). The ultimate mission of Follow This is for shareholders to convince oil and gas companies to put their brains and billions behind the energy transition to clean energy. Exxon views Follow This as such a threat to their oil and gas activities, that the supermajor filed a lawsuit against the activist shareholder.
Isabelle Reymen is co-founder and scientific director of TU/e innovationSpace, a learning hub that facilitates co-creation of responsible solutions to real-life challenges. In 2021, she was granted the first Higher Education Award in the Netherlands, with her team, for the educational innovations in the past years. In 2022, TU/e innovationSpace received international recognition by winning the European Triple E award in the category ‘Innovation and Collaboration Space of the Year’.
15:00 - 16:00 After drinks for Symposium guests & welcome for Inaugural lecture guests
All guests of the Symposium, Exposition and Inaugural lecture are cordially invited.
16:00 - 17:00 Inaugural Lecture prof.dr.ir. Anna J. Wieczorek: ‘Enabling Sustainability Transitions'
Auditorium TU/e - Blauwe Zaal
Anna Wieczorek holds a chair in Sustainable Innovation and Transitions at TU/e. She is founding member of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network STRN, and serves as a Sustainability Ambassador at TU/e.
Driven by an urgent need to act on Sustainability and conduct research that matters, in her inaugural speech, Anna will first discuss how our perception of environmental problems evolved over time and how our response to grand societal challenges needs to be adjusted to be effective. In particular, Anna will elaborate on why and how we need to change our perspective on innovation and what actions are necessary to facilitate transformative change towards Sustainability. Anna will share the results of her research and her vision on how to enable Sustainability transitions both within the university and beyond. More about the inauguration.
17:00 - 18:00 Reception & drinks Inaugural lecture guests
All guests of the Inaugural lecture are invited for the reception & drinks.
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If you would like to participate, learn more & be updated, please click the link below!
Full Program Information
For any questions or queries, do not hesitate to contact us via sustainability@tue.nl.