Projects
Current projects
MIST
MItigation STrategies for Airborne Infection Control
The airborne transmission of pathogens has a great impact on our health and economy. To address this, indoor environments need better air quality control to reduce infection rates. The MIST project brings together medical, physics, and engineering experts to study virus transmission, airborne droplet spread, and ventilation to develop mitigation technologies (based on ventilation and air cleaning) and assessment methodologies to test their efficiency. These outputs will be translated into practical recommendations to support overall indoor health, which in turn will improve our pandemic readiness.
Since the global impact of COVID-19, we have become acutely aware of the risks related to airborne diseases. Virologists, epidemiologists, fluid mechanics experts, and engineers are collaborating in the MIST (MItigation STrategies for Airborne Infection Control) project to deepen our understanding and prevent the transmission of airborne viruses, infectious diseases and harmful agents, with a particular focus on addressing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). The MIST brought together a diverse range of expertise, including fluid dynamics, physics, molecular biology, medicine, and engineering, and partnerships with 28 companies. The project aims to develop mitigation strategies for controlling airborne infections. To achieve this goal, the following steps will be taken:
i) Advancing fundamental knowledge on virus infectivity, the spread of airborne droplets, and the effectiveness of ventilation.
ii) Developing mitigation technologies and evaluating methodologies to determine their efficacy.
iii) Disseminating program outputs through publicly available recommendations and policy guidelines.
The outcomes of this research will be translated into practical recommendations for implementing measures in the most efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable manner across various environments, including homes, hospitals, schools, and public transportation.
The airborne transmission of pathogens has a great impact on our health and economy. To address this, indoor environments need better air quality control to reduce infection rates. The MIST project brings together medical, physics, and engineering experts to study virus transmission, airborne droplet spread, and ventilation to develop mitigation technologies (based on ventilation and air cleaning) and assessment methodologies to test their efficiency. These outputs will be translated into practical recommendations to support overall indoor health, which in turn will improve our pandemic readiness.
Since the global impact of COVID-19, we have become acutely aware of the risks related to airborne diseases. Virologists, epidemiologists, fluid mechanics experts, and engineers are collaborating in the MIST (MItigation STrategies for Airborne Infection Control) project to deepen our understanding and prevent the transmission of airborne viruses, infectious diseases and harmful agents, with a particular focus on addressing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). The MIST brought together a diverse range of expertise, including fluid dynamics, physics, molecular biology, medicine, and engineering, and partnerships with 28 companies. The project aims to develop mitigation strategies for controlling airborne infections. To achieve this goal, the following steps will be taken:
i) Advancing fundamental knowledge on virus infectivity, the spread of airborne droplets, and the effectiveness of ventilation.
ii) Developing mitigation technologies and evaluating methodologies to determine their efficacy.
iii) Disseminating program outputs through publicly available recommendations and policy guidelines.
The outcomes of this research will be translated into practical recommendations for implementing measures in the most efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable manner across various environments, including homes, hospitals, schools, and public transportation.
Physics of Fluids | Health
RECENTRE
Risk-based lifEstyle Change: daily-lifE moNiToring and REcommendations
About
There is a great need for a more personalized approach in healthcare and smart monitoring solutions to revolutionize healthcare and relocate care from the clinical to the home setting. In RECENTRE, we work with patients and citizens to empower people to play a leading role in their lifestyle and health within their own environment. By holistic monitoring of vulnerable populations in their home and tailored recommendations, we relocate care from primary/secondary care and prevent disease development or worsening, resulting in timely intervention, higher quality of life and lower healthcare costs.
By leveraging on existing state-of-the-art sensing techniques, we advance emerging deep-tech sensing approaches, resulting in improvements in scale, cost, and performance. We develop dynamic risk profiles based on multivariate data for the added risk of lifestyle on health outcomes over time. For monitoring high-risk populations in daily life, we create integrated smart sensor systems. The systems are designed for high patient engagement by considering the needs of patients in combination with the vividness of imagining oneself in a virtual environment with different types of sensing techniques in the future-self approach. By deep-phenotyping, we develop dynamic holistic patient profiles over the life course to come towards meaningful personalized adaptive recommendations with high potential for adoption and lifestyle change. We investigate transferability by including multiple application areas; focusing on cancer and obese populations at risk of late effects. This combined risk-based approach using holistic monitoring and engagement enables sustainable empowerment of people in daily-life using eHealth.
Our combined 4TU expertise will strengthen and pool cutting-edge techniques in the fields of deep-tech sensing technologies, dynamic prediction modelling, holistic profiling, adaptive individual interventions, patient engagement, implementation science, and (cost-)effectiveness. This synergy in complementary expertise is paramount for successful development of smart affordable and accessible eHealth monitoring solutions in daily life. We form a large network, including all relevant stakeholders for our patient and citizen-centered approach.
About
There is a great need for a more personalized approach in healthcare and smart monitoring solutions to revolutionize healthcare and relocate care from the clinical to the home setting. In RECENTRE, we work with patients and citizens to empower people to play a leading role in their lifestyle and health within their own environment. By holistic monitoring of vulnerable populations in their home and tailored recommendations, we relocate care from primary/secondary care and prevent disease development or worsening, resulting in timely intervention, higher quality of life and lower healthcare costs.
By leveraging on existing state-of-the-art sensing techniques, we advance emerging deep-tech sensing approaches, resulting in improvements in scale, cost, and performance. We develop dynamic risk profiles based on multivariate data for the added risk of lifestyle on health outcomes over time. For monitoring high-risk populations in daily life, we create integrated smart sensor systems. The systems are designed for high patient engagement by considering the needs of patients in combination with the vividness of imagining oneself in a virtual environment with different types of sensing techniques in the future-self approach. By deep-phenotyping, we develop dynamic holistic patient profiles over the life course to come towards meaningful personalized adaptive recommendations with high potential for adoption and lifestyle change. We investigate transferability by including multiple application areas; focusing on cancer and obese populations at risk of late effects. This combined risk-based approach using holistic monitoring and engagement enables sustainable empowerment of people in daily-life using eHealth.
Our combined 4TU expertise will strengthen and pool cutting-edge techniques in the fields of deep-tech sensing technologies, dynamic prediction modelling, holistic profiling, adaptive individual interventions, patient engagement, implementation science, and (cost-)effectiveness. This synergy in complementary expertise is paramount for successful development of smart affordable and accessible eHealth monitoring solutions in daily life. We form a large network, including all relevant stakeholders for our patient and citizen-centered approach.
Biomedical Signals and Systems | Health
SYNERGY: Social dYnamics in eNergy systems: Resilience, Governance and Trust
NWO has awarded €2.85 million to a University of Twente-led NWA (National Science Agenda) project that contributes to more inclusive and equitable energy policies. The SYNERGY project investigates how behaviours such as cooperation, resistance, and collective action emerge in local settings like neighbourhoods, energy hubs, and energy communities. This transdisciplinary project aims to produce practical tools and knowledge that governments and practitioners can use to design more effective, fair, and adaptive energy policies.
A key principle of SYNERGY is energy justice: ensuring that everyone, regardless of their resources or background, has the opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition. This includes addressing inequalities in access to renewable energy systems and in the decision-making processes that shape them.
The project, SYNERGY, focuses on social dynamics and addresses the question of how to make the energy transition fairer and more inclusive. Le Anh Long, from the Faculty of Behavioural, Management, and Social Sciences (section PA), coordinates the project and works together with colleagues Thomas Hoppe (BMS-CSTM), Sikke Jansma (BMS-CS), Peter Stegmaier (BMS-KiTES), Ewert Aukes (BMS-CSTM), Imad Ibrahim (BMS-CSTM) and Marco Gerards (EEMCS-CAES). The grant falls under the NWA Call 'Social dynamics in the energy transition. From theory to practice, which aims to deepen understanding of how social behaviour and interactions influence the energy transition.
A strong collaboration across universities and practice
SYNERGY is a collaborative effort involving partners across the Netherlands. Alongside the University of Twente, the consortium includes TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, Tilburg University, Utrecht University, Avans University of Applied Science, TNO, and several partners from practice, including energy cooperatives. By bringing together academic expertise and real-world perspectives, the project bridges research and practice to support policymakers, energy hubs, local communities and individuals.
A key principle of SYNERGY is energy justice: ensuring that everyone, regardless of their resources or background, has the opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition. This includes addressing inequalities in access to renewable energy systems and in the decision-making processes that shape them.
The project, SYNERGY, focuses on social dynamics and addresses the question of how to make the energy transition fairer and more inclusive. Le Anh Long, from the Faculty of Behavioural, Management, and Social Sciences (section PA), coordinates the project and works together with colleagues Thomas Hoppe (BMS-CSTM), Sikke Jansma (BMS-CS), Peter Stegmaier (BMS-KiTES), Ewert Aukes (BMS-CSTM), Imad Ibrahim (BMS-CSTM) and Marco Gerards (EEMCS-CAES). The grant falls under the NWA Call 'Social dynamics in the energy transition. From theory to practice, which aims to deepen understanding of how social behaviour and interactions influence the energy transition.
A strong collaboration across universities and practice
SYNERGY is a collaborative effort involving partners across the Netherlands. Alongside the University of Twente, the consortium includes TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, Tilburg University, Utrecht University, Avans University of Applied Science, TNO, and several partners from practice, including energy cooperatives. By bringing together academic expertise and real-world perspectives, the project bridges research and practice to support policymakers, energy hubs, local communities and individuals.
Public Administration | Climate | Emerging Technologies | Energy | Resilience | Urban Futures