Utrecht and Eindhoven regions belong to the most competitive regions in Europe. The further development of a joint high-level science and technology infrastructure contributes to the competitiveness of both regions. Some years ago, Utrecht Medical Center, Eindhoven University of Technology and Utrecht University joined forces in a strategic Alliance: they strengthen both existing cooperations and complementary areas in education, research and valorisation. The strategic Alliance goes beyond knowledge exchange. It also aims to increase the success rates in national and European research and infrastructural funding schemes and to enhance the national and international visibility. In the combination of UU’s famous fundamental research, Eindhoven’s advanced technological background and UMC’s medical expertise lies the key to success in the fields of solar fuels, regenerative medicine and non-invasive imaging techniques. These three fields are now complemented with the Darcy Center for Porous Media Science and Technology.
The goal of Darcy Center is to advance porous media research in the areas of novel porous materials, transport of mass and heat in deformable porous media, and reactive energy storage in porous materials. The Center responds to the strong demand for innovative fundamental and applied research in order to meet today’s societal challenges. It invites academia and industries to join forces in advancing porous media research in the Netherlands. Within the Darcy Center partner institutes invest in joint research activities such as PhD and postdoc projects, strive for staff secondments within the partner institutes, submit joint research proposals and offer joint student courses on both graduate and undergraduate levels. In this way the partner institutes participate in each other’s research and educational ecosystems to expand and deepen the common knowledge base.