Prof Walter van der Meer (57), PhD MSc, CEO of drinking water company Oasen, has been appointed part-time professor at the University of Twente from 1 September 2016. He will hold the newly-established chair of Membrane Technology and Engineering for Water Purification.
The part-time professorship at the UT means Walter van der Meer works as a professor one day per week, while he works in his position as CEO of drinking water company, Oasen, the rest of the week. Since 2011, he has been professor of Innovative Water Processes at the Delft University of Technology, a position he will discontinue.
Research on membranes
The new chair is part of the research group, Membrane Science and Technology. In the Netherlands, the research group is a leader in the field of fundamental and applied research into the development process and technological applications of membranes in, for example, the water sector. The Membrane Science and Technology group is part of MESA+.
Drinking water sector
Van der Meer: "The University of Twente offers new opportunities and fits well with the technological challenges associated with the drinking water sector. The drinking water sector is facing major challenges such as climate change, threats to the abstraction of drinking water due to, for example, salination, and the customer's desire to receive pure drinking water out of the tap. Water companies must prepare for these developments. For example, by using modern purification techniques such as membrane filtration."
Walter van der Meer studied Chemical Engineering at the Delft University of Technology. In 2003, he obtained his doctoral degree in Civil Engineering Course at this university. From 2005 to 2011, he was taught as a professor of Membrane Process Technology at the University of Twente. From 2011, he worked as a part-time professor for Innovative Water Processes at the Delft University of Technology. He has been CEO of the drinking water company, Oasen, since 2012.