Em. Prof. dr. ir. Brezet, J.C.

Han Brezet is Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

Academic Background

Han Brezet (1951) is an emeritus professor of the faculty and DfS (Design for Sustainability). He holds a MSc in Electrical Engineering from TU Delft, where he graduated in 1977 on the issue of integration of WindPower in the grid. After the co-creation of the Erasmus’ Environmental Sciences Institute (ESM), he completed his PhD in energy innovation at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He held several jobs in industry and became director of the Institute of Environmental Economics (TME), before returning to TU Delft. Since 1992 he is tenure professor in sustainable product design at the IDE faculty, where he has established the DfS program. In cooperation with UNEP Paris and companies like Philips, the program was among the first in the world in the area of life cycle oriented Applied Ecodesign: the development of useful products with de-carbonization, de-toxification and de-materialization as co-drivers. Among the outputs are ca. 30 doctoral dissertations and a few hundred MSc theses. Today, the program includes concepts and themes like product-services systems, energy-efficient and renewable energy based products, natural materials’ based products and product design for emerging markets.

Brezet is proud to be able to contribute –with his colleagues, staff and students- his share to the IDE faculty’s logo: 'Towards Sustainable Products for Well-being'. During several years, Prof. Brezet combined his job in Delft with a visiting professor’s position at the Lund University (SE) and a senior fellowship at the University of Melbourne (AU).

As a consequence of his research directorship, Han is member of the Management Team (MT) of the faculty. In addition, he participates in the MT of the DE department and is member of the Delft Council of Professors (Raad van Hoogleraren).

In close connection to his position in Delft, he is member of the Jury for the Royal Environmental Awards (Duurzame Lintjes) in the Hague, the Jury for the Gasterra Energy Transitions Award and the Jury of the 'Bataafs Gezelschap'. During several years he was also a jury member for the popular Dutch TV program 'The Best Idea of the Netherlands'.

Regularly, at special –national and international- academic events, Prof. Brezet performs on the tenor sax with his band “ProfB & the Design Girls” to underscore the importance of design for sustainability for and with the next generations. (see: YouTube “Solar Night ProfB”)