My affiliation with the UvA goes back to 1987 when I joined the group of Jan Verhoeven as an assistant professor, working on photoinduced electron transfer, and radical ion spectroscopy. This topic lives on in the current research on solar fuels. After 1998, molecular machines became an important research topic. At present, my research at HIMS is focused mainly on applications of fluorescence in materials science. An example is the work with Prof. Daniel Bonn (Physics) on the use of fluorescent probes for the study of mechanical interactions. Using molecules, we image nanoscale contact between objects, changes in contact during friction, and lubrication. In addition, I spend part of my time at the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography, where my group investigates the chemistry induced by extreme ultraviolet radiation, providing the scientific basis for the new technology of extreme ultraviolet lithography.

I started in 1985 as an assistant professor and have led a research group from 1995 till 2016. My research interests and expertise include synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry in general, in particular organometallic compounds of the late transition metals, involving ligand systems that impose stereo-electronic control on the complexes, application of such compounds in homogeneous catalysis and metal-assisted synthesis. Currently, I am working part-time and not leading a research group, but I am involved in teaching and research directed to NMR spectroscopy and catalysis. I am the editor-in-chief of Applied Organometallic Chemistry and member of the Board of the inter-university research school HRSMC.

Since 1982 I have been working at the UvA and was promoted to full professor in synthetic organic chemistry in 1997. My research involves the development of new synthetic and selective (catalytic) methodology for the manufacture of important compounds for physical, chemical or medical applications. A second line of investigation is directed at the target-oriented synthesis of challenging natural products. The research has been published in more than forty theses and more than 250 original peer-reviewed publications. I have lectured at many international meetings and received the 2017 ISHC Lecture Award. I am an emeritus professor since 2018.

In 1994 I left DSM to become professor of chemistry at UvA. Mathematical modeling of polymers always had my special interest in view of the exciting microstructure in relation to processing properties and characterization issues, especially relating to rheology and light scattering. In 2005 I initiated the art-related chemical research at HIMS investigating oil paint degradation in the pioneering NWO Science4Arts Program – the PAinT project. Fundamental study of thermodynamic and transport properties of the linseed oil based polymer, a novelty in art research, provided crucial understanding of metal soap behavior – a major factor in paint deterioration. Thus, I enjoy doing research attracting both museums and industry.

My research revolves around unifying concepts in multicomponent diffusion and multiphase hydrodynamics, both in separations and reaction engineering. It has provided many improvements in technologies such as distillation, fluidized catalytic cracking, and catalytic reforming. In recent years, I have contributed to many international research projects with my expertise in mathematical modelling, for instance of the performance of metal-organic framework (MOF) separations. I have published two textbooks (of which one has been translated into Chinese), more than 500 peer-reviewed journal articles, and I hold several patents. I am among the most cited scientists in my field and received several awards, including the Akzo Nobel Science Award in 1997, and the ENI award in 2013.

I am full professor in Analytical Chemistry at the UvA since 2002, after having spent nearly two decades in industry (Philips and Shell). I am also the Education Director of COAST, The Netherlands’ public-private-partnership organization on analytical chemistry. As such I have created successful national Analytical-Science honors programs at the BSc and MSc levels. In 2016 I was awarded an ERC Advanced grant for the project STAMP (Separation Technology for A Million Peaks). Recent international awards include the Fritz-Pregl Medal (2018), the CASSS Award (2015), the Csaba Horváth Memorial Award (2015), the John H. Knox Medal of the RSC (Belgium, 2014), the Martin medal of the Chromatographic Society (2011), and the EAS Award for Excellence in Separation Science (2010).

I started working at the UvA already in 1971, and going though the ranks I was appointed on a personal chair in 2002. My research originally focussed on the characterization and functional properties of metal containing oxido-reductases. Later I became interested in the industrial application of these and other enzymes. In particular the vanadium containing enzymes discovered by our group became the focus of our research, and we provided a crucial understanding of their properties. For this work I received the Vanadis award in 2016. The application of enzymes in the synthesis of phosphorylated and sulfated compounds and replacing existing chemical procedures by these enzymatic methods was another focus of our research. I am the inventor of 3 PCT patent applications, author and co-author of about 290 publications and I wrote about 35 chapters in books. Since 2012, I am an emeritus professor.