UTFacultiesEEMCSDisciplines & departmentsMORDMMPNewsJohann Hurink new Scientific Director at the 4TU Applied Mathematics Institute

Johann Hurink new Scientific Director at the 4TU Applied Mathematics Institute

UT-professor Johann Hurink has been appointed Scientific Director at the 4TU Applied Mathematics Institute (4TU.AMI) with effect from 1 July. He is taking over from Kees Vuik (TU Delft), who held the position at this institute for eight years.

In his new position, Hurink intends to further expand the connecting role of the 4TU.AMI between the four universities of technology in the Netherlands (Delft, Eindhoven, Twente, Wageningen). He wants the universities of technology to get together in forming research consortia, in working together with the business community on topical themes such as health, resilience and energy, and to innovate education with projects such as Blended Learning.

Hurink sees much to be gained in the exchange of knowledge between researchers and the business community. ‘Businesses can gain insight into the latest scientific developments and bring in the challenges they are facing, and a network of this kind is great for helping young researchers find out if they are interested in a certain topic.’
He is also aware of the added value of working together in the 4TU alliance, saying: ‘I feel that the clout you have as four universities together is the greatest value of the 4TU alliance. We need this unity to realise our international position, as the universities in the surrounding countries are much larger.’

Given the crucial role that mathematics plays in many issues, Johann Hurink reckons the career prospects for mathematicians are pretty good at the moment. ‘Issues are becoming more and more complex. For example traffic models, the energy transition and the current coronavirus crisis. The planning and control needed for these issues demand mathematical models, so I am convinced that the call on mathematicians will only increase,’ he says.

Hurink combines his position at 4TU.AMI with his work at the University of Twente where he is Professor of Discrete Mathematics and Mathematical Programming at the department of Applied Mathematics. The focus of his research is on the optimisation of smart grids, smart networks for our energy supply. He feels it is important that, besides his work for the AMI, he can keep on working in this field of research and so continue to contribute to the developments in this field.

Johann Hurink succeeds Kees Vuik, who was appointed Scientific Director at the AMI in January 2012. Under Vuik’s leadership the AMI grew into an innovative centre with a broad network. Vuik paid particular attention to the visibility of applied mathematics in the Netherlands and to setting up collaborations with external partners.

Short biography

Professor Johann L. Hurink has been Professor of Discrete Mathematics and Mathematical Programming at the department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Twente since 2009. Until the end of last year he was also the Scientific Director of the Dutch Network on the Mathematics of Operations Research (LNMB). Hurink's current work includes the application of optimisation techniques and scheduling models to problems in logistics and health care and in recent years primarily within the context of Smart Grids.

About 4TU.AMI

4TU.AMI (Applied Mathematics Institute) is a joint initiative of the Faculties of Mathematics of the technical universities in Delft, Eindhoven, Twente and Wageningen; its goal is to facilitate research and education in applied mathematics. AMI works together in research teams on Big Data, Energy, Health, Resilience and Water; it develops new teaching modules and teaching methods, organises a range of community meetings and sets up funds for applied mathematics activities. For more information see https://www.4tu.nl/ami/en/

About 4TU

The four universities of technology in the Netherlands are united in the 4TU.Federation. 4TU is committed to the strengthening and pooling of technical knowledge. The universities of technology want to ensure that there are sufficient and well-trained engineers and technical designers and that leading international and socially relevant research takes place, and to promote collaboration between research institutions and businesses.
For more information see https://www.4tu.nl/en/

J.C. Vreeman (Jochem)
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