Pictures of My Workplace

Ghent, Friday 16 November 2007, 12:10 pm. These three pictures are taken at the doorstep (backdoor) of my workplace.

Guust Flater Goes Academic

At the left hand side, please observe Gaston Lagaffe. Born in 1957 in the mind of Belgian André Franquin, Gaston, known to the Flemish-speaking as Guust Flater, looks a little disturbed. Looks like he is thinking about... solar energy.

The myth was around for years, but I only checked for the first time today: rumour has it that our famous Belgian cartoon figure once published at the side of a professor affiliated with Ghent University.

Below the proof: yes he did.


The reference in full:

Title:		The maximum efficiency of the conversion of solar energy into wind energy
Authors:		de Vos, Alexis; Flater, Guust
Affiliation:		Laboratorium voor elektronika en meettechniek, Rijksuniversiteit te Gent, Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 41, B-9000 Gent, BelgiumGuustFlaterFlater's Technology n.v., Bontinckstraat 83, B-9290 Berlare, Belgium
Publication:		American Journal of Physics, Volume 59, Issue 8, pp. 751-754 (1991).
Publication Date:		08/1991
Origin:		AIP
Keywords:		140100170100SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION, EFFICIENCY, LIMITING VALUES, WIND POWER, HEAT ENGINES, EARTH ATMOSPHERE, MATHEMATICAL MODELS
Abstract Copyright:		(c) 1991: American Institute of Physics
DOI:		10.1119/1.16756
Bibliographic Code:		1991AmJPh..59..751D

Seems like reality beats fiction again.