Isabel W.C.E. Arends (born 1966) [1] is a Dutch chemist and professor of biocatalysis and organic chemistry at Utrecht University. She was appointed dean of its Faculty of Science in July 2018. [2] Her research specializes in environmentally-friendly, or 'green', chemistry; for example, using enzymes as biocatalysts while avoiding the need for toxic solvents. [3]
Arends studied physical organic chemistry at Leiden University between 1984 and 1988, obtaining an MsC. In 1993 she obtained her PhD at the same university with a thesis titled: 'Thermolysis of arene derivatives with coal-type hydrogen donors', studying with Prof. Rob Louw and Dr. Peter Mulder. [4] Following graduation, Arends spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher in Ottawa, Canada at the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences. She joined Delft University of Technology in 1995, and was awarded a research fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in the field of biomimetic oxidations. [5]
Between 2001 and 2006 she worked as associate and assistant professor at Delft University of Technology. In 2007 she was promoted to full professor of Biocatalysis and Organic Chemistry. [6] She served as the chair of the Biotechnology Department at Delft University of Technology from 2013 to 2018, [7] vice-chair of the Applied and Engineering Sciences domain of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, and founded the TU Delft Bioengineering Institute in 2016. [8]
Arends was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in 2017. [3] [9] [10]
Jacobus Henricus "Henry" van 't Hoff Jr. was a Dutch physical chemist. A highly influential theoretical chemist of his time, Van 't Hoff was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His pioneering work helped found the modern theory of chemical affinity, chemical equilibrium, chemical kinetics, and chemical thermodynamics. In his 1874 pamphlet Van 't Hoff formulated the theory of the tetrahedral carbon atom and laid the foundations of stereochemistry. In 1875, he predicted the correct structures of allenes and cumulenes as well as their axial chirality. He is also widely considered one of the founders of physical chemistry as the discipline is known today.
Delft University of Technology, also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among the top 10 engineering and technology universities in the world. In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, it was ranked 2nd in the world, after MIT.
Carolina Henriette MacGillavry was a Dutch chemist and crystallographer. She is known for her discoveries on the use of diffraction in crystallography.
The Royal Netherlands Chemical Society is a learned society and professional association founded in 1903 to represent the interests of chemists and chemical engineers in the Netherlands. Currently the organisation has approximately 7,400 members.
Harry Lintsen is a Dutch scientist. He is professor in history of technology at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, and researcher on microplastics.
Peter John Stang is a German American chemist and Distinguished Professor of chemistry at the University of Utah. He was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Chemical Society from 2002 to 2020.
Egbert (Bert) Willem Meijer is a Dutch organic chemist, known for his work in the fields of supramolecular chemistry, materials chemistry and polymer chemistry. Meijer, who is distinguished professor of Molecular Sciences at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, is considered one of the founders of the field of supramolecular polymer chemistry. Meijer is a prolific author, sought-after academic lecturer and recipient of multiple awards in the fields of organic and polymer chemistry.
The history of the Delft University of Technology started in the year 1842 with the foundation of the Royal Academy (1842–1864). The Royal Academy restarted in 1864 as the Polytechnic School (1864–1905), which evolved the Delft University of Technology in 1905.
Piet Gros is a Dutch chemist and professor biomacromolecular crystallography at Utrecht University. In 2010 he received the NWO Spinoza Prize for the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of the C3 protein, which plays a central role in the complement system and contributes to innate immunity.
Evert Johannes Willem Verwey, also Verweij, was a Dutch chemist, who also did research in physical chemistry.
Marko Branica was a Croatian chemist known for his investigations of electrochemical methods for the environmental analysis. For his research he was awarded the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences.
Roger Arthur Sheldon is emeritus professor of Biocatalysis and Organic Chemistry at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Gerard Adriaan Acket is a Dutch electrical engineer and emeritus professor. He worked in the faculties of electrical engineering at Delft University of Technology between 1981 and 1988 and Eindhoven University of Technology between 1991 and 2000. His workfield was optoelectronics.
Herman van Bekkum was a Dutch organic chemist. He was professor of Catalysis in Organic Chemistry between 1971 and 1998 at Delft University of Technology. He served as rector magnificus of the university between 1975 and 1976. He was an expert in the field of carbohydrate chemistry and zeolites.
Marileen Dogterom is a Dutch biophysicist and professor at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology. She published in Science, Cell, and Nature and is notable for her research of the cell cytoskeleton. For this research, she was awarded the 2018 Spinoza Prize.
Manfred Theodor Reetz is a German chemist and professor of organic chemistry, who served as director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research from 1991 until 2011. His research focuses on directed evolution, enzymes in organic chemistry, and stereoselective biocatalysis.
Wiro J. Niessen is a Dutch scientist in biomedical image analysis and machine learning. He is full professor at both Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam and Delft University of Technology. He is founder and scientific lead of Quantib, an AI company in medical imaging. In 2015 he received the Simon Stevin Meester Award from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. From 2016 to 2019 he was president of the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Interventions Society. In 2017 he was elected to The Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts & Sciences. He is director of the AI platform of the European Organization for Biomedical Imaging Research.
Roeland J. M. Nolte is a Dutch chemist, known for his work in the fields of organic chemistry, biochemistry, polymer chemistry, and supramolecular chemistry. He is an emeritus Royal Netherlands of Arts and Sciences professor and an emeritus professor of Organic Chemistry at Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Currently, he holds a special chair, i.e. professor of Molecular Nanotechnology, at this university. Nolte is considered to be one of the pioneers of the field of supramolecular chemistry, which encompasses the design and synthesis of new chemical structures from low molecular weight compounds and biopolymers using so-called non-covalent interactions. He published many studies on supramolecular assembly and biomimetic catalysts, which find applications in the field of nanomaterials and medicine.
Jan Cornelis Maria van Hest is a Dutch scientist of organic chemistry, best known for his research regarding polymersomes and nanoreactors. He currently holds the position of professor of bioorganic chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology and is scientific director at the Institute of Complex Molecular Systems. Among the awards he has received, he was one of the recipients of the 2020 Spinoza Prize.
Selin Kara is a Turkish-born chemist and biotechnologist. She is currently a full professor and head of Industrial Biotechnology section at Aarhus University. She studies biocatalysis and has been recognized for her work about deep eutectic solvents and her research regarding cofactor regeneration in biotransformations.