The American computer concern Intel has asked the Twente Institute of Mechanics (TIM), which operates within the UT, to make computers 'quieter'. The order has gone to the group Structural Dynamics and Vibrations within the section Applied Mechanics of Mechanical Engineering. This group is lead by professors De Boer and Tijdeman.
Fans, harddisks, cd-rom and dvd players are infamous noise-makers in today's computers. The higher speeds of cd and dvd-players cause an increasing noise level. Also higher memory capacity, more extensive graphic cards and larger fans cause an increase in sound production. The UT-research into sound dampening has acquired a good name thanks to the development of new acoustic absorption techniques. UT-student Marco Beltman, who received his PhD degree cum laude working for Tijdeman, now has a job at Intel and helped the order go to Twente.
