Monique Tabak and Jan Buitenweg have been appointed as the new department chairs of the Biomedical Signals and Systems (BSS) group as of 1 April 2024.
On Monday, 25 March they symbolically took over the leadership from Peter Veltink during a coffee moment with the group. Peter handed each of them half of the symbolic chairman's hammer, marking the end of his 21-year tenure as department chair. Hermie Hermens also played a significant role, having developed the e-health technology theme over the past decade and transferring it to Monique in recent years.
Monique Tabak: I am excited to take over from Peter together with Jan. Peter, along with Hermie, has built a wonderful department with a broad focus, always emphasising technology and innovation. BSS focuses on measuring and influencing human functions, analysing this data for personalised e-health technology, such as predictive disease progression models, decision support systems for healthcare professionals, and personalised coaching for individuals with chronic conditions. Leading a predominantly young group of people in the academic world as department chairs is something I look forward to. I hope that as a group, we continue to make strides together, contributing to solutions for healthcare through our scientific research and education, and training our future (healthcare) professionals. This is a collective team effort and presents an interesting but mostly rewarding challenge.
Jan Buitenweg: Peter and Hermie leave behind a wonderful BSS group, of which I have been a part for a long time. Under their leadership, I have seen the BSS group grow in both quantity and quality of research and education. I find the unique identity and cohesion we have developed as a BSS group over the years incredibly valuable. The direction and space provided by Peter and Hermie have played a significant role in this. I am also proud of the members of the BSS group, who contribute to our collective mission from their areas of expertise: from fundamental and early technological developments for measuring and influencing bodily functions, to the use of technology for monitoring and coaching patients in their environment, we have it all covered and collaborate with valuable external partners. In addition to the impact we have as a group through our research, I am also proud of the education we provide and the environment we offer students to grow in their professional development. The excellent secretarial and technical support we enjoy completes the picture. Therefore, I feel it is a great privilege to serve as chairman of the BSS group as we write the next chapter in our history and look forward to collaborating with Monique in this endeavour.
