Engineering Doctorate Projects

Smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa are struggling to ensure a healthy and thriving food system. Not only is there a need for sufficient and healthy food for a growing population now, it is also important to take care of the natural environment to ensure food production can take place in the future. 

In Kenya, in collaboration with CGIAR (a global agricultural research institute), this is envisioned with a permaculture approach: to work with nature rather than against it. There is a focus on the reduction of food waste, conservation of natural resources, mitigation and adaption to climate change, and the inclusion of traditional farming knowledge. The aim of this EngD project is to design a landscape that harmoniously benefits both the socio-economic well-being of smallholder farmers and the natural environment, by co-designing with local farmers.

These possible landscape designs will be generated with the Landscape IMAGES model, which uses coordinates in GIS. Multiple objectives that cover both socio-economic and environmental indicators will be optimized based on Pareto optimality (an indicator cannot be improved without deteriorating the performance of one or more other indicators). The generated designs are landscape maps that give insight in how the landscape could be used and managed sustainably, and will be used to facilitate discussions with relevant stake-holders to further explore what works in practice.

Eveline works with the Landscape IMAGES model, which helps CGIAR and local farmers to get more insight in how to use and manage the landscape more sustainably. As such, there are benefits for both the socio-economic development of smallholder farmers and improvements in the natural environment.

To address challenges in fish health monitoring, Bram Kok, EngD trainee at Wageningen University and Research, is exploring the potential of advancements in sensor technology. Operating within the innovation programme Next Level Animal Sciences of the Animal Sciences Group, and collaborating with the University of Twente, this EngD explores an innovative approach using integrated optics to measure the Interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration in fish blood.

IL-6 is a cytokine associated with the immune response in fish. Monitoring IL-6 levels would be instrumental for assessing the health of the fish, as elevated IL-6 levels indicate an inflammatory response. By utilizing microring resonators or a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the interference with light can be determined reflecting the concentration of IL-6 in the sample. This method not only allows for accurate IL-6 measurement but presents a way to measure a whole range of different substances in the blood.

Ultimately, this project is a first big step towards the design of an implantable biosensor for real-time in vivo measurements of IL-6 and other substances in the blood circulation.

In the quest for more sustainable and efficient nutrition, the poultry industry is increasingly betting on a moist feed diet. Using moist feed is healthier, better for animal welfare and increases the chickens’ performance. By using waste streams from the food industry, a moist diet also adds circular value and reduces feed-food competition.

One of the challenges for poultry farmers is the lack of proper systems for storing, mixing and distributing moist feed. When feed is wet, it often gets stuck in machinery. As a result, disruptions occur, and feed is wasted. In addition, high temperatures in the barn mean that contamination can occur when wet feed is in the feeders for too long.

For her EngD, Salma Rian developed a feeding system in which ingredients are stored separately and then efficiently mixed and distributed around the barn. A special cleaning system with acidified water ensures that the machine is cleaned regularly. The used water can then be reused in the feed mixing system.

Salma came to her design based on discussions with stakeholders from across the chain, from poultry farmers to material producers. After fine-tuning her prototype, she hopes to work with a manufacturer to market a working machine for different types of poultry farms.

In the quest for more sustainable and efficient nutrition, the poultry industry is increasingly betting on a moist feed diet. Using moist feed is healthier, better for animal welfare and increases the chickens’ performance. By using waste streams from the food industry, a moist diet also adds circular value and reduces feed-food competition.

One of the challenges for poultry farmers is the lack of proper systems for storing, mixing and distributing moist feed. When feed is wet, it often gets stuck in machinery. As a result, disruptions occur, and feed is wasted. In addition, high temperatures in the barn mean that contamination can occur when wet feed is in the feeders for too long.

For her EngD, Salma Rian developed a feeding system in which ingredients are stored separately and then efficiently mixed and distributed around the barn. A special cleaning system with acidified water ensures that the machine is cleaned regularly. The used water can then be reused in the feed mixing system.

Salma came to her design based on discussions with stakeholders from across the chain, from poultry farmers to material producers. After fine-tuning her prototype, she hopes to work with a manufacturer to market a working machine for different types of poultry farms.

Studying a plant's development can help identify valuable traits. For example, traits that make a plant more resilient to stress factors, such as drought. To properly observe a plant, researchers can use time-lapse photography, a sequence of images captured over a certain time-period. One of the limitations of current systems for this is that images are shot from the same viewpoint, hiding occluded parts.

The solution: a camera system that can move around, capturing a full 3D representation of the plant. During his EngD at WUR, Johan Bucher built a professional version of his previously designed demonstration version of this device, called BABETTE. Within a year, he and colleagues at WUR realised a high-tech system with several high-resolution cameras.

With this camera system BABETTE visualises the plant in great detail from every angle, including the spaces between leaves and very thin parts of a plant. Using specific software, all these images are put into a model which together creates a fourth dimension (4D): time. A digital reconstruction of the plant in time makes it possible to record the growth and development of the plant even more accurately. Johan's aim is to make BABETTE available for research and education in plant science, also outside WUR.