It is 1992, a young chemist joins the TU in Eindhoven after gaining his doctorate in Groningen. Many prestigious awards have come his way for his work as a scientist. Besides his pioneering research, his career is also characterized by his drive and talent for training young engineers. That talent for recognizing and training young (bio)chemists translates into his supervision of more than one hundred PhD students, a unique number for TU/e. This is the story of the power of Bert Meijer, the first TU/e professor to break through this magical century barrier.
In his field, Bert Meijer is an inspiration and innovator as a scientist. His research, along with his team's research, has led to numerous publications in major journals such as Nature and Science.
One of the more recent accounts concerns the accidental discovery of how a hydrogel becomes more solid, when you dilute it. He is also the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and recognition at home and abroad.
More than 100 PhD's
Meijer is the first professor to have supervised more than a hundred PhD students at TU/e. Even outside our young university (founded in 1957), it is not often in the Netherlands that a professor has supervised so many young scientists in his or her career.
He still knows them all, too, and follows their careers. "We had another reunion in February of 2020, right before corona, where I got to see a lot of them again," Meijer recalls with pleasure.
"In addition, I give them all a numbered artwork called 'Chemistry'. That way they all know exactly where they are on my list. And I still give them something personal when they defend their thesis."
Talent for talent
It is not only the number that is impressive. Many of his alumni also turn out to be very talented themselves and have very successful careers. At TU/e alone, there are already five professors working who received their doctorates from Bert: Jan van Hest (in the video), Patricia Dankers, Anja Palmans, Tom de Greef, and Luc Brunsveld.
And beyond that, many PhD students have stayed in science and work at universities such as Pascal Jonkheim (University of Twente), Thomas Hermans (Madrid), and Maartje Bastings (EPFL Switzerland). In the video, Meijer says of this: "For me, it's all about portraying a career as well as possible for all of the young people who come into the group. That's all that matters."
There are also alumni who found their future in the clinical world or in industry. The whole list is full of impressive names, and young talent continues to emerge, such as Laura Rijns (in the video) and Joost van der Tol.
The power of Bert Meijer
So where does the power of Bert Meijer lie? His talent to inspire people for his field and guide them as well as help them develop their talents!
Watch the video especially to get a sense of his impact on the young people he supervises. "As long as the people who are in the group now are active, I'm definitely going to continue. In a year and a half, I'll be 70. And then we'll see what happens," Meijer laughs.
