On the final day in the Netherlands, we are going to The Hague. This is the political capital of the Dutch; it is where all political action takes place. While we were here, we learned about the history of the Dutch government. The government has a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. This means they…
Tag: Luke Vinansky
Day 10: Sustainability in Rotterdam
Today, we took a tour of Rotterdam Central to learn about how the city incorporates sustainability around the city. We saw some lower elevation parts of the city, where the water runs off to, for example, they had a basketball court that acted as a drain and water storage for the city. We also saw…
Day 9: Exploring the Delta Works
Today we headed over to the Delta Works. The Delta Works is a massive system of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, and storm-surge barriers. It was built after a terrible flood killed 1800 people in 1953. This project is a crazy engineering feat. They built factories just to make this and specially designed boats to help…
Day 8: Floating Innovations
Today we visited a floating farm. This floating farm had everything it needed, even though it is located on the water. The top floor was where the cows lived and where an automatic cow milker was located. Underneath that was where they made dairy products and the food for the cows. The food for the…
Day 7: German History
Today we took a trip to Münster, Germany. Here, we took a tour of the city and learned about its rich, deep history. On our tour, we talked about how the church there would have cages where people would be hung in them if they spoke out against the religion. It was crazy to think…
Day 5: Future and Past of The Dutch
Today, we learned about windmills. We had a lecture on them, where we learned some of the physics behind them, learned about some of the innovations used today, and actually saw them when we visited Pure Energie. But before that, we took another tour around Twente and learned about how their campus is sustainable. The…
Day 4: Pitt Meets Twente
Today, we head to the City of Enschede to visit the University of Twente. We started with a campus tour, during which we learned about the college. Twente is modeled after a traditional college campus, with lots of open space and the educational buildings being located in the east, while residential living is in the west….
Day 2: Living on the WATER-EDGE
Day 2 was a very busy day for us; we visited a tulip farm, a community of floating houses, and a company called EDGE. EDGE is a building firm focused on making some of the most sustainable buildings. They prioritize sustainability, low CO2 emissions, getting people into the office, and building a lasting impact. They…
Day 1: Locals are dogs
On the first day in the Netherlands, I learned a lot about their culture and sustainability. Today, we visited the House of Denim and learned how they manufacture jeans sustainably. One of the most interesting things I learned was about how they wash the jeans. They used to use punice rocks that were very rough…
To The Netherlands & Beyond
Hello, my name is Luke Vinansky. I am a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh studying Materials Science and Engineering. Outside of academics, I am an active member of the Triangle chapter at Pitt, where I serve as social chair. I am originally from Mayfield, PA, a small town located about 15 minutes from Scranton….