The Flemish scientist Karen Maex has been appointed Rector of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). On 1 June 2016, she will become Rector and member of the board of directors of UvA, the largest university in the Netherlands.
It was necessary for Karen Maex to move to our northern neighbours to finally obtain the position she coveted. A specialist in nanotechnology, initially, the 56-year old Belgian engineer was appointed Deputy Director of the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), the first woman to become the Deputy Director of this 600-year old university.
In 2013, Karen Maex only just lost the election to become the Rector of KU Leuven. Shortly afterwards, she was offered the position of Dean of three science faculties at the University of Amsterdam, in charge of bringing together these three faculties under the same banner: The Faculty of Science of Amsterdam. However, this merger did not see the light of day owing to student protests.
After two years spent managing the science department, and with her experience in the field of education and research, Karen Maex was elected unanimously to the head of the UvA.
Along with Luc Stoet, the Rector of the University of Maastricht since 2012, Karen Maex is the second Flemish Belgian to be in charge of a Dutch university. We wish her every success.
