Between October 2017 to December 2017, PhD student Eftychia Dichorou was on an academic secondment to TUDelft, in the Netherlands. She joined the TU Delft Seismic Research group whose research is complementary to hers in Cambridge University.
Whilst in Delft, Eftychia was based in the department of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. She had the opportunity to collaborate with Prof Jan Rots, and Dr Max Hendriks, her academic hosts and from whom she received valuable guidance and advice on the computational modelling aspect of her own research.
My interaction with the researchers at TU Delft also enabled me to explore the applicability of the principles and concepts that I currently use for my research and to share my knowledge and understanding.
- Eftychia Dichorou
Eftychia was also invited to participate in the monthly seminar series of the department, where she had the opportunity to present her research to the postgraduate students and academics.
In December 2017, Prof Rots and his research group organised a day trip to the capital city of Netherlands, Amsterdam. They had a tour around the city where they managed to see amongst other structures - the narrowest house in Amsterdam and the famous glass façade of the ‘Crystal House’ which is now home to the high-end flagship store, Chanel. The entire facade of the building was replaced by transparent glass bricks, windows frames and architraves to recreate the city's traditional architectural style - a true engineering feat.
In her spare time, Eftychia also visited a few other sites in the Netherlands including Rotterdam, Dordtrecht, Gouda and the Hauge. She particularly enjoyed visiting the town of Gouda, world-famous for it’s Gouda cheese and whose streets are adorned with big, yellow cheese-shaped decorations. There Eftychia learned the process of making a Gouda cheese and at the same time, try a variety of different cheese flavours.
Eftychia would like to thank Prof Jan Rots and Dr Max Hendricks for their guidance and advice on her research and enabling this opportunity for the secondment to TU Delft.