Eindhoven University of Technology: Social Heroes, flight of the hummingbird, and FameLab winners all on Heroes Like You TV
How can students and staff at TU/e alike connect further with the city of Eindhoven? Why is it important to understand the flight of the hummingbird? And who is this year’s national winner of the FameLab science communication competition? They are the questions answered in the latest episode of ‘Heroes Like You TV’ and you can watch it online now.
BECOME A SOCIAL HERO
To mark the lustrum year, TU/e has several innovative projects fostering the theme for this year ‘Heroes Like You’. One of those is the Social Heroes project, with Joep Huiskamp and Marieke van Beurden as project managers.
Social Heroes is seeking to strengthen the connection between the TU/e campus and the city of Eindhoven by running a number of projects in the city. Members of the TU/e campus can share their knowledge and experience, while at the same time, connect with the city of Eindhoven in a unique way.
Joep and Marieke aren’t organizing everything by themselves, and a team of student assistants including Tatum Simons are helping out. Tatum spoke to “Heroes Like You TV” where she puts out an important call-to-action.
SUPERPOWER OF THE HUMMINGBIRD
Flight is a superpower possessed by many superheroes, but in the real world, there are many animals that can fly, such as the hummingbird.
Named after the mesmerizing humming sound it makes during flight, the hummingbird can beat its wings up to 40 times per second to hover in the air. A truly unique superpower of the animal kingdom.
Researchers from TU/e in collaboration with Stanford University and TU/e spin-off Sorama wanted to know more about the superpower of the hummingbird. They studied these hovering species using high-speed cameras.
Patrick Wijnings was part of the research team, and he spoke to ‘Heroes Like You’ TV about the significance of the work.
ENTERING THE FAMELAB HALL OF FAME
Science communication has never been more important, particularly in this age of misinformation. And it’s even more important that young researchers develop the skills to be accomplished science communicators early in their careers.
FameLab is a competition that encourages young researchers to engage with science communication. On June 1st, TU/e hosted the national final of FameLab Netherlands. Ten contestants from four universities competed for the FameLab accolade.
Overall winner was Alexandra Cloherty from Amsterdam UMC, and she’ll represent the Netherlands in the International FameLab final later this year. And there was success for TU/e as Mohammad Jouy Bar picked up the audience award.
Alexandra and Mohammad spoke to ‘Heroes Like You TV’ about their FameLab experience and their science communication successes.
ABOUT ‘HEROES LIKE YOU TV’
‘Heroes Like You TV’ is an online news bulletin series that profiles the latest news and events from our Lustrum Year celebrations. It is presented by Dr. Barry Fitzgerald, TU/e Science Communication Officer.