AE Alumni Homecoming​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

September 25, 2025 | Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

Welcome to the next 85 years

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the faculty of Aerospace Engineering! To celebrate this special occasion we would like to invite you to our AE Alumni Homecoming.

Join us at the faculty to look forward to the future of aerospace, have a peek at the latest labs and meet up with staff, students and fellow alumni.

On the programme:

16.00 Doors open

16.30 85 years of Aerospace Engineering TU Delft: where are we now? by our Vice Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Dr.ir. Mirjam Snellen

Round 1: Pick & choose your session

1) Exploration Talk: exploring the icy moons of our solar system

Join Associate Professor Planetary Exploration and 2024 Faculty Lecturer of the Year, Dr. Stephanie Cazaux, on a journey to the icy moons of our solar system.

2) Brainstorm: help shape the future of our BSc programme

The world around us is changing rapidly. We need to make sure that the engineers we deliver are ready for the challenges of today but also for those in the future. Therefore, we are currently redesigning the bachelor curriculum. Director of Education Joris Melkert would like to present the new design to you and gather your feedback.

3) Pitches: meet start-ups in the Aerospace Innovation Hub

Get to know the Aerospace Innovation Hub, the community of aerospace startups, academics, students, corporates and industry professionals on the faculty’s 13th floor. And meet two startups up close: Vaeridion and MuTech.

4) Guided Tour: visit the faculty’s latest labs in structures and materials:

The  Delft TapeLab: Prof. Clemens Dransfeld and Dr. Baris Caglar will show you the unique open research facility for unidirectional thermoplastic tapes and their applications. Learn more about this research on the intersection of materials, advanced processing technologies and digitalization.

The Shaping Matter Lab: Dr. Kunal Masania gives an introduction to the Shaping Matter Lab, where he and his research group explore how composite materials can be programmed to present complex structure, or function. By combining design, engineering, and material science, the lab develops smart and sustainable materials for wind, Space and sustainable aviation.

Round 2: Pick & choose your session

18:30 Keynote: Bio-inspired Artificial Intelligence for Tiny, Autonomous Drones Prof.Dr. Guido de Croon, Full Professor Bio-inspired Micro Air Vehicles Tiny drones are promising for many applications, such as search-and-rescue, greenhouse monitoring, or keeping track of stock in warehouses. Since they are small, they can fly in narrow areas. Moreover, their light weight makes them very safe for flight around humans. However, making such tiny drones fly completely by themselves is an enormous challenge. Most approaches to Artificial Intelligence for robotics have been designed with self-driving cars or other large robots in mind – and these are able to carry many sensors and ample processing.

In his keynote Guido de Croon will argue that a different approach is necessary for achieving autonomous flight with tiny drones. In particular, he will discuss how we can draw inspiration from flying insects, and endow our drones with similar intelligence.

Examples include the fully autonomous “DelFly Explorer”, a 20-gram flapping wing drone, and swarms of CrazyFlie quadrotors of 30 grams able to explore unknown environments and finding gas leaks. De Croon will also talk about the promises of novel neuromorphic sensing and processing technologies, which enable an artificial intelligence that is much faster and more power efficient than the current state of the art.

19.00 Networking Drinks

Reconnect with fellow alumni, academic staff, and current students and see what our faculty has to offer in mentoring and online learning.

21.00 End of the programme

The homecoming event will start at 16.30 (walk-in from 16.00) and end at 21.00

We ask for a small contribution of 25 Euros to cover part of the catering costs.

Please note that we will not reimburse in case of no show.  

We hope to meet you there!

Meet our speakers

Meet our Start-Ups

Wind turbines provide clean energy, but noise is a significant barrier to adoption and to maximizing energy production. MuTech developed MuteSkin®, which can reduce turbulence-induced noise by up to 6 dB(A) and is easily installed on both existing and new turbine designs. In 2026, MuTech aims to improve the lives of 10,000 people living near 100 turbines with quieter wind energy.

Inspired by gliders, our design focuses on reducing drag and maximising lift for ultraefficient flight. By integrating the batteries directly into the wing, we reduce weight and boost performance, delivering up to 400 km of fully electric range, excluding reserves. That’s enough to cover more than 80% of turboprop routes in Europe. The result? A 100% electric aircraft that carries up to 9 passengers + 2 pilots, cost-effective, clean and built for regional travel. Connecting over 2,300 airports across Europe, our Microliner opens new routes between regions underserved by road, rail, or ferry, and too costly to reach with conventional aircraft.

Discover our Labs

The TapeLab

The Delft TapeLab is a unique open research facility for unidirectional thermoplastic tapes and their applications. Its mission is to advance knowledge and innovation of unidirectional tapes and their applications through collaborative research at the intersection of materials science, advanced processing technologies and digitalization.

At Delft TapeLab, we address research questions on knowledge and control of microstructural features of advanced composites for enhanced performance, for added multifunctionality, for increased automation performance as well as for novel sustainable materials technologies.

The Shaping Matter Lab

The Shaping Matter Lab at TU Delft is a research group that explores how composite materials can be programmed to present complez structure, or function. By combining design, engineering, and material science, the lab develops smart and sustainable materials for wind, Space and sustainable aviation. Their work spans from fundamental research to practical applications, inspiring innovations in architecture, product design, and manufacturing.

Location

Delft University of Technology

Faculty of Aerospace Engineering - Building 62

Kluyverweg 1

2629 HS Delft

The Netherlands