Jaap Schouten is both pleased about and very honored by his appointment. “In this role at NWO I can now work with others over the coming years to help build on a strong field of science in the Netherlands. The new structure of NWO offers wonderful opportunities to connect all kinds of scientific domains and so generate new and innovative solutions to societal challenges. The domain TTW is specifically charged with shaping technical and engineering sciences as a key distinctive discipline and thereby connecting it with other scientific disciplines. For example, think in terms of the application of big data and technological innovation in healthcare, the development of materials and sustainable technologies to realize energy-neutral cities, or the influence of quantum computing on security. The new NWO will be even more capable than it now is in forging connections with the best parties and scientists.”

The appointment at NWO also means that Jaap Schouten will be taking a back seat at TU/e and his department. “The position at NWO and a management position at a university is not tenable for one and the same person, so I will step down as dean in the fall,” Schouten says. The appointment at NWO is 50%, but he expects it that it will take up more than 50% of his time, especially in the beginning. The rest of the time, however, he will continue his association with his Chemical Reactor Technology research group at the Chemical Engineering department.

The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) is changing its organization with a new governing structure. The members of the new Executive Board will take office on 1 January 2017. In addition to the new chair, prof. dr. Stan Gielen, the Executive Board will comprise a portfolio holder for Operations and Finance plus four scientific members. The new chairs of the future domain boards are prof. dr. Ineke Braakman, prof. dr. Jeroen Geurts, prof. dr. ir. Jaap Schouten and prof. dr. Wim van den Doel. Drs. Caroline Visser will be the board member responsible for Operations and Finance.

"This great news comes at a bit of a price”, says TU/e chairman of the board Jan Mengelers. “Great news for Jaap Schouten, because it’s recognition for what he has achieved. Great news for the university because we are ‘delivering’ talent for a top position at NWO. An organization of great significance for science and, therefore, for our university. Fortunately, Jaap will still be part of our university as a professor. But we have a bit of a price to pay in that we are losing a good dean of a good department, and must go looking for a successor. However, all in all, the congratulations for Jaap Schouten are well and truly deserved."

Jos Engelen, who chairs the Governing Board of NWO, is also pleased with the board appointments. ‘The incumbent board of NWO is delighted with the new appointments and is keen to do its best to work with the new board in facilitating a supple and quick transfer in the fall.’

Jaap Schouten studied chemical engineering at the University of Twente and gained his doctorate at Delft University of Technology. In 2006 he was awarded the Simon Stevin Master title by the STW Technology Foundation. Since 2007 he has been a member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities. He has supervised more than 55 PhD’s and is (co-)author of over 350 scientific publications. With his research group and a number of spin-off companies, he has acquired prestigious grants including and Advanced Grant and Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council and various STW Valorization Grants. In 2013 his research group received the Core Chemical Engineering Award from the British Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). In 2014 the spin-off company Flowid that came out of his group received the distinctive Herman Wijffels Innovation Award.

Schouten has held different board positions in the field of chemical engineering at, among others, the Netherlands Process Technologists (NPT), the Hoogewerff Fund Foundation and the European Federation for Chemical Engineering (EFCE) as well as the Chemistry Steering Group of the Topsector Chemistry. He is vice-chair of the Supervisory Board of the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT) and member of the Board of the Chemelot Institute for Science and Technology (InSciTe). Between 2007 and 2011 he was a member of the board of the NWO domain of Chemical Sciences.

Source: Press team TU/e