Students The majority of TU Delft's students are male. In 2021, among all students of the university (
MSc and
BSc level) 30% were women. The biggest imbalance between men and women is seen in the
Mechanical engineering faculty, while the smallest is seen at
Industrial Design and
Architecture departments. Despite many efforts of the university to change that imbalance, the number of women studying at TU Delft has stayed relatively constant over the years. The same applies to the total student population (from approximately 13,250 in 2002 to almost 16,500 in 2009). The largest proportion of international students at TU Delft in 2022 come from China (14%), followed by India (11.4%) and Belgium (7.4%). The faculties with the highest percentage number of international students study at
Aerospace Engineering (46%) and
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (38%). Due to TU Delft's presence, the city of Delft has one of the biggest populations of
Iranians in the Netherlands. It resulted in one of the biggest Iranian protests against the Iranian government in Europe, with many protests organized at TU Delft campus by Iranian TU Delft students during
2009 Iranian Election Protests.
Faculty TU Delft is a home to 437 faculty, with more than 3,375 academic staff. The responsibility of TU Delft professors is lecturing, guiding undergraduate and graduate students, as well as performing original research in their respective fields. Many notable people were TU Delft faculty. In science,
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, a 1913
Nobel Laureate in
physics, a discoverer of
superconductivity, was a former TU Delft faculty member, working as an assistant to
Johannes Bosscha. Discoverer of the
Prins reaction Hendrik Jacobus Prins, co-founders of
National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science Hendrik Anthony Kramers and
David van Dantzig, developer of the
iodide process Jan Hendrik de Boer, discoverer of the
particle spin Ralph Kronig, discoverer of the
Einstein–de Haas effect Wander Johannes de Haas and discoverer of
hafnium Dirk Coster, all were at some point the faculty members of the university. Faculty members of Delft School of Microbiology were the founder of modern microbiology
Martinus Beijerinck and the father of comparative microbiology
Albert Kluyver. File:Heike_Kamerlingh_Onnes,_1878.jpg|
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, discoverer of
superconductivity, TU Delft faculty 1878-1882 File:Martinus_Beijerinck.png|
Martinus Beijerinck, father of
virology, TU Delft faculty 1895-1921 File:Ralph_de_Laer_Kronig.jpg|
Ralph Kronig, discoverer of
particle spin, TU Delft faculty 1939-1969 In engineering, the inventor of
penthode and
gyrator Bernard Tellegen and
Balthasar van der Pol developer of
Van der Pol oscillator, were TU Delft faculty. Currently
Vic Hayes, and the father of
Wi-Fi, is affiliated with the
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management.
STS-61A of the
Space Shuttle Challenger crew member
Wubbo Ockels was professor of
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology. TU Delft faculty geologist were
Berend George Escher,
Johannes Herman Frederik Umbgrove, discoverer of
Bushveld complex Gustaaf Adolf Frederik Molengraaff and discoverer of gravity anomalies above the sea level
Felix Andries Vening Meinesz. Since TU Delft is a home to a
major architecture school in the Netherlands, many important architects were a faculty of the university, including Hein de Haan, founder of
Traditionalist School in
Architecture Marinus Jan Granpré Molière,
Bent Flyvbjerg, co-founder of
Mecanoo architects bureau
Francine Houben, co-founder of
MVRDV architects bureau
Winy Maas and
Nathalie de Vries, co-founder of
Team 10 Jacob B. Bakema and
Aldo van Eyck, as well as
Herman Hertzberger and
Jo Coenen. Some notable designers were faculty of TU Delft, including
Paul Mijksenaar, developer of visual information systems for
JFK,
LaGuardia and
Schiphol airports. Political figures that were faculty of TU Delft include former
mayor of Lisbon Carmona Rodrigues, former
mayor of Sarajevo Kemal Hanjalić, and the first Dutch prime minister of the Netherlands after
World War II Wim Schermerhorn.
Notable alumni Two TU Delft alumni were awarded Nobel Prize and one recipient has been affiliated with TU Delft:
Jacobus van 't Hoff was awarded first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1901 for his work with
solutions.
Simon van der Meer was awarded Nobel Prize in physics in 1984 for his work on
stochastic cooling and one has been affiliated with TU Delft,
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1913 for studies related to liquefaction of helium in the quest for the lowest temperature on Earth. Some of the mathematicians include
Jan Arnoldus Schouten, contributor to the
tensor calculus. Chemists and TU Delft alumni include
Willem Alberda van Ekenstein, Dutch chemist and discoverer of
Lobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation. TU Delft alumni and computer scientists include
Adriaan van Wijngaarden, developer of
Van Wijngaarden grammar and co-designer of
ALGOL. Famous TU Delft alumni electrical engineers include
Jaap Haartsen, developer of
Bluetooth. Political figures that studied at TU Delft include
Karien van Gennip, Dutch secretary of state for economic affairs,
Anton Mussert, Dutch politician of World War II era and founder of
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands,
Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of
Pakistan nuclear program, and Dutch politician
Wim Dik. Famous TU Delft alumni architects include
Erick van Egeraat,
Herman Hertzberger and Hein de Haan. Dutch designers that graduated at TU Delft include
Alexandre Horowitz, designer of
Philishave, and
Adrian van Hooydonk, Dutch automobile designer and head of design at
BMW. TU Delft alumni executives include
Jeroen van der Veer, former
CEO of
Royal Dutch Shell,
Ben van Beurden former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell,
Frits Philips, fourth chairman of the board of directors of
Philips and
Gerard Philips, co-founder of Philips.
Laurens van den Acker is a Dutch automobile designer and the vice president of Renault Corporate Design. Other interesting TU Delft alumni include
Lodewijk van den Berg, Dutch-American
payload specialist on
STS-51B mission and
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, member of the
Dutch royal family. Other interesting figures that studied at TU Delft were mathematician
Diederik Korteweg, responsible for
Korteweg–de Vries equation, who studied at TU Delft before moving to
University of Amsterdam and painter
Maurits Cornelis Escher who studied at TU Delft for a year.
Thomas Jan Stieltjes, co-developer of
Riemann–Stieltjes integral studied at TU Delft but never passed his final exams. The internationally renowned graphic designer and industrial designer
Piet Zwart studied at the university 1913–1914. TU Delft alumni who are currently a faculty of other universities include
Wilhelmus Luxemburg, Dutch mathematician and
California Institute of Technology professor, as well as
Walter Lewin, Dutch physicist and former
MIT professor, and
Alexander van Oudenaarden, Dutch biophysicist, a director of the Hubrecht Institute. File:Jacobus_Hendricus_van_%27t_Hoff.jpg|
Jacobus van 't Hoff,
Nobel Prize in chemistry, TU Delft student 1869-1871 File:Gerard_philips.jpg|
Gerard Philips, cofounder of
Philips, TU Delft student 1876-1883 File:Lely-Havermans-kleur.jpg|
Cornelis Lely, head designer of
Afsluitdijk, TU Delft student 1871-1875 File:Ben van Beurden.jpg|
Ben van Beurden former CEO of
Royal Dutch Shell, TU Delft student 1981-1983
Honoris Causa Laureates In 1906 TU Delft obtained the right to award PhD degrees. This also marked the date since when the university was able to award
honorary doctorates. Between 1906 and 2006 exactly 100
honoris causa degrees have been awarded. Honorary doctoral degrees are awarded to people that presented extraordinary contributions in their respective fields. Some of the most recognized recipients of TU Delft honorary doctorate include: •
Gerard Philips (1917), co-founder of
Philips corporation, •
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1918), winner of the
Nobel Prize in Physics known for work on
electromagnetic radiation, •
Prince Bernhard (1951), prince of the Netherlands, •
John Douglas Cockcroft (1959), winner of Nobel Prize in Physics for work on atom splitting, •
Santiago Calatrava (1997) architect. ==Reputation and ranking==