UTFacultiesTNWDept NEMResearchIMSNewsGuus Rijnders and Jeroen Cornelissen join the Management Team of MESA+

Guus Rijnders and Jeroen Cornelissen join the Management Team of MESA+

The Executive Board proudly announces that, as of 1 September, 2015, Professor Guus Rijnders and Professor Jeroen Cornelissen will succeed Professor Dave Blank as Scientific Director of MESA+. They will form the interim management of the research institute together with Technical Commercial Director Janneke Hoedemaekers. Rijnders and Cornelissen will fulfil this position for half a year. Professor Dave Blank will be appointed as Chief Scientific Ambassador as of 1 September, 2015.

Guus Rijnders became assistant professor at the University of Twente in 2001. April 2010 he was appointed full professor in NanoElectronic Materials Science, part of Inorganic Materials Science at MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology.  The research of his chair is related to the materials science of complex materials, mostly used for electronic devices. The research focuses on the structure-property relation of atomically engineered complex (nano)materials, especially thin film ceramic oxides. The class of investigated materials includes, amongst others, ferromagnetic, superconducting, ferroelectric as well as piezoelectric materials. In recent years, Rijnders has started new research directions in the field of functional and smart materials, such as piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials, and their integration with electronic and micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). Since 2011 he is also chairman of Inorganic Materials Science. In 2013 he became member of the Supervisory Board of ‘Topconsortium voor Kennis en Innovatie (TKI HTSM)’ and member of the executive council of the top sector ‘High tech systems & materials.’ As of 2014 he is chairman of NanolabNL.

Guus Rijnders has an impressive scientific record.  He is a leading and innovating scientist. In 2001 he received his PhD in Applied Physics from the University of Twente for his dissertation on The Initial Growth of Complex Oxides: Study and manipulation (cum laude). For his research in ‘ Advanced Materials on atomic-scale’ he received a ‘VIDI’ grant in 2006. His research led to several patents and spin-offs. Rijnders is very successful in building bridges between various scientific disciplines, between science and business and between science and society.  Therefore he was granted, together with professor Dave Blank, with the prestigious FOM Valorisation Award in 2014.  

Jeroen Cornelissen is full professor in Biomolecular Nanotechnology at the University of Twente. He conducts research on the interface of polymer chemistry, supramolecular chemistry and biomolecular chemistry. His research group is focusing on designing and developing new self-assembling materials consisting of natural materials such as proteins from viruses. As a result for instance, tiny reaction vessels are built to store substances or to cause chemical reactions.

Cornelissen studied chemistry at the Radboud University Nijmegen (RU). In 2001 he was awarded a doctorate cum laude for his research into chiral macromolecular systems. After a stay of more than a year at the IBM Almaden Research Center in the United States, he was affiliated with the RU Institute for Molecules and Materials where he worked as a post-doctoral researcher, assistant professor and associate professor as of 2002.

Jeroen Cornelissen is well known as a creative and very productive scientist. He has a number of scientific publications in top scientific magazines as Science, Nature Chemistry, Nature Nanotechnology and Angewandte Chemie. His research has been rewarded by various grants including a Veni grant and a Vidi grant. In 2013 he received  an ERC Conslidator Grant. Furthermore he was granted with the SNS Bank Award (2012), the EURYI Award (2007), the Beijerinck Premium for Virology and the Golden KNCV Medal (2010).

Furthermore, Cornelissen is Associate Editor of the Journal of Materials Chemistry. He is cofounder and member of de Scientific Advisory Board of Encapson B.V., which is specialised in innovative coating for medical applications. Cornelissen is also chairman of the Organic Chemistry department of the Royal Dutch Chemical Society and member of the Programme Board CHAINS 2015.  

The Executive Board of the UT is pleased with this appointment and has profound appreciation for these members who so enthusiastically join the Management Team of MESA+. With this appointment the Board follows the advice of the International Assessment Committee’s report on MESA+. The Committee recommends to strengthen the institute’s management team by adding in the heads of the focus areas. Therefore the Board has chosen this intermediate organisation yet for half a year. The Board wishes Rijnders, Cornelissen and Hoedemaekers success as Management Team of MESA+ institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente.

drs. B.G. Lankhaar (Bertyl)
Spokesperson EB (Currently acting director Kennispark Twente)