Each year the KNAW selects a limited number of new members. Bouten has been selected on the basis of her scientific achievements. Following this year’s round, the association now numbers some 580 members, ten of whom have their chief appointments at TU/e. In addition, there are another four emeritus professors of TU/e on the list. Membership is lifelong

Bouten heads the Soft Tissue Biomechanics & Engineering group of the Biomedical Engineering department of TU/e.“It is a huge honor, of course, to be able join this institution,” says Bouten. “Admittedly, it brings more work, but it also offers me a fantastic new platform for discussing important current issues in my field, and my network will be extended significantly.”

The KNAW was founded in 1808 as an advisory body to the government, a task also performed today. The independent association is “the forum, the voice and the conscience of science in the Netherlands”.