25th edition Best Professor Award received by Cees Dekker
On Monday 3 September, Cees Dekker, Professor of Molecular Biophysics at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (AS) received the Best Professor Award 2018. The festive ceremony preceded the Opening of the Academic Year 2018-2019 and was extra special this year: Dekker received the 25th edition of the award. Delft University Fund awards the prestigious Best Professor Award since 1994.
Best of TU Delft
A Best Professor is someone who excels in both research and education, and who knows how to inspire and motivate the next generation of Delft engineers. Recipients of the award are reckoned among the top of TU Delft. Professor Dekker was nominated by Professor Lucas van Vliet, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, by Study Association S.V.N.B. Hooke, and by PhD students and other parties with whom he collaborates intensively. During the ceremony, Prof. Hubert Savenije, chairman of the Best Professor Award selection committee, said that Cees Dekker has been an inspiring and enthusiastic teacher for BSc, MSc and PhD students, as well as for postdocs and academic and industrial fellow scientists.
"Cees has the quality to guide an impressive number of students, PhDs and postdocs on the one hand, and to stimulate his scientific environment on the other hand. He not only has a great, continuous interest in science, but is consistent and persistent in achieving the best results. This high quality is visible in the dissertations and publications of the many PhD students and postdocs who work and have worked in the Dekker Lab. In addition to his infectious enthusiasm, Cees is very committed to what he does. This dedication is not limited to guiding students in the scientific field but also reaches a large external audience, something which is very valuable for TU Delft", says Savenije.
Cees Dekker
Cees made a worldwide name in the nineties with his research into the properties and possibilities of carbon nanotubes. His work was long regarded as one of the icons of nanotechnology: technology on the scale of one millionth of a millimetre. In the years 2000 Cees shifted his research more towards biology. His work showed how individual DNA and protein molecules work together, for example to restore a damaged genetic code. In recent years, he has also been working on technology that will make it possible to build a synthetic cell in the future.
The price
Dekker received the Best Professor silver medal from the hands of Rector Magnificus and Chairman of the Executive Board, Tim van der Hagen. Besides that, a cheque of 15,000 euros was handed over by Evelyne Esveld, Director Delft University Fund. Traditionally, KLM offers two intercontinental business class tickets every year, this year presented by KLM top executive Frank Houben.