5 november 2010 - OPENING LAB MESA+, KNIGHTHOOD DAVE BLANK

CROWN PRINCE IMPRESSED BY NANOLAB

OPENING OF MESA+ LAB, ROYAL HONOR FOR DAVE BLANK

By writing the words 'The MESA+ NanoLab is hereby opened' on a human hair, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands opened the new laboratory on 5 November amid great public interest. It was clear that the crown prince was greatly impressed by his guided tour of the laboratory's cleanroom. It was a day of celebration for MESA+, the University of Twente and the scientific community in the Netherlands as a whole.

NANOVISIONS

Meanwhile, the audience was given a fascinating insight into the world of nanotechnology in a dual presentation by Jan-Douwe Kroeske and Dave Blank. Three enthusiastic PhD students - Josée Kleibeuker, Songyue Chen and Johan Engelen - demonstrated aspects of their research work, not only in vision but also in sound, because Johan Engelen recently developed a musical instrument on a microscopic scale. This 'micronium' has received great attention in the Dutch and international press, and was played live during the opening ceremony.

As part of the varied programme the audience were also treated to a number of humorous 'nanovisions': will you soon be able to swallow a pill that will call you on your mobile phone if you are about to eat or drink unhealthily, for example?

On a more serious note, Jan-Douwe Kroeske spoke about the ethical aspects of nanotechnology: is it right to tamper with nature in this way? These are issues that are dealt with frankly by Dave Blank in the many presentations he gives concerning his passion: nanotechnology.

Scientific director Dave Blank wanted to know whether the crown prince found it awkward to move around in a cleanroom suit: something he admits to having difficulty with himself. "If you can't stand the suit, stay out of the lab!" was the prince's light-hearted reply, to the laughter of the assembled crowd. He showed that he was deeply impressed by the new facilities.

Blank's predecessor, Prof. David Reinhoudt, spoke on behalf of NanoNed, the national nanotechnology programme that he was closely involved in setting up. Together with Kees Eijkel, Prof. Reinhoudt was in at the start of the new lab, and he praised Dave Blank and Miriam Luizink for they way in which they have picked up the baton since then. Among those present at the opening ceremony were others who had been involved from the very beginning of the predecessor of the current MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, such as Prof. Jan Fluitman and Prof. Piet Bergveld.

KNIGHTHOOD

As a grand finale to the proceedings the mayor of Enschede, Peter den Oudsten, had a surprise for Dave Blank. Immediately after the crown prince's departure, in accordance with royal protocol, the mayor called Dave Blank forward to award him the Knighthood of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. Mayor den Oudsten praised Blank for his great services to science and the popularization of science, and also for his numerous social contributions in Twente, for example to art in Enschede.

On behalf of all MESA+ researchers, Dave Blank and Miriam Luizink were presented with a plate with the Latin inscription Nanos gigantium humeris insidentes ('Dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants'): a text that puts the achievements in MESA+ into their scientific perspective and at the same time indicates that from something small (nanos: dwarf) something great can grow. A fitting close to a day of celebration!

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Science writer UT

Wiebe van der Veen
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