Sustainable Energy & Green House Gas Emissions:

A Focal Point of Research at University of Twente

Prof.dr.ir. Th.H. van der Meer

Thermal Engineering, Engineering Technology,Twente University, the Netherlands

Beyond any doubt the availability of energy and resources (e.g. fuels and chemical building blocks) for our future generations constitutes one of the major concerns of mankind. Institute of Mechanics Processes And Control Twente (IMPACT) intends to contribute to the solution of this problem through an integrated multidisciplinary research approach involving all major disciplines. The domain of sustainable energy and greenhouse gas emissions encompasses a huge area and based on the existing strengths the following major focal areas have been identified for challenging research topics.

Ÿ           Energy efficient and clean conversion of fossil fuels

Ÿ           Sustainable production

Ÿ           Utilization of bio-fuels

Ÿ           Biomass conversion and bio-refinery

Ÿ           Materials for sustainable energy

Ÿ           MSc program in Sustainable Energy Technology of 3TU (Delft-Twente- Eindhoven)

Theo H. van der Meer

Professor Th.H. van der Meer studied Applied Physics at Delft University of Technology. He finished his master’s degree in 1976 in the Heat Transfer section.  After obtaining this degree he started as an assistant professor in the same research group. In 1987 he obtained his PhD degree in Applied Physics on the topic: “Heat transfer from impinging flame jets”. Then he stayed for a period of ten months for a sabbatical leave at the University of Waterloo in Canada, working in the field of natural convection. Back in Delft he stayed as an associate professor in the Heat Transfer section till 1999. He was involved in the experimental as well as in the numerical research in this group, led by prof. Hoogendoorn and later by prof. Hanjalic. He introduced new measurement techniques to the group, such as laser induced fluorescence and Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy for concentration and temperature measurements in flames.  In 1999 he got an appointment as full professor at the University of Twente. Here he leads the Thermal Engineering group, in which energy related research is performed. Topics of research are: turbulent combustion, heat transfer and thermal conversion of biomass. Professor Van der Merer is the Dutch delegate in a number of international committees, for conferences, like Eurotherm, International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer en de Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conferences. He is (co-)author of about 95 scientific publications.