According to jury chairperson Micaela dos Ramos, Scholte is working in a field ‘that deserves to gain more attention in the coming years. Rick excels because he is able to realize smart and affordable solutions to noise problems that impact both public health and safety. In so doing, he is cleverly manages to bring together industry and knowledge institutes.’ The 38-year-old alumnus, who gained his doctorate at TU/e's Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2008, admits he did not think for a moment that he was a serious contender. “The other two candidates (engineer Rolf Hut of TU Delft and Wageningen alumnus Martin Baptist, ed.) really are two outstanding engineers, each very different in their own way; that made it difficult to establish in advance my own likelihood of winning. But it is fantastic to hear the outcome.” Having said that the three finalists were unlike each other, with differing backgrounds and visions, he says: “Yesterday we found out that in fact we do all work with sound in some form or another. Perhaps we can collaborate on something, for example related to sound measurements in public spaces or nature.” As far as the winner is concerned, the award gives him a great opportunity in the coming year to draw greater attention to his message concerning noise pollution. To the satisfaction of this mechanical engineer, the subject is of growing interest. He refers to RIVM's recent announcement that it will be following Germany's example and researching the influence of traffic and indoor noise on children's development. “That is something I would like to make a bit of a key point in the coming year, as I have already done in my campaign to win this award: warning people that we really must do something about the noise pollution all around us.”