In the evening of Tuesday, April 15, around 140 former and present PhD students, postdocs, and colleagues of Bert Weckhuysen gathered at Loetje in Rotterdam to celebrate two milestones: Bert’s 25th anniversary at Utrecht University, where he started as Full Professor in 2000, and his 100th PhD promotion in Utrecht with Jim de Ruiter’s PhD defense taking place on March 18. Former PhD students and postdocs from all over the world joined the event to meet old friends and make new friends.
During this evening, Pieter Bruijnincx (Full Professor at Utrecht University) and Jaap Bergwerff (Business Development Director at Ketjen, Amsterdam), PhD graduates number 8 and 9, shared memories of their PhD journey with Bert. A special video, created by former and current PhD students, captured impressions and reflections on their time at Utrecht University. The event highlighted Weckhuysen’s impact on heterogeneous catalysis and operando spectroscopy, as well as his contributions to sustainable and circular chemistry. More than just commemorating the academic achievements of Bert, the gathering celebrated his continuous strive for collaboration, excellent & innovative research, and mentorship, values that continue to shape the future of catalysis.
The left banner contains the cover page of 100 PhD theses that Bert has supervised within the past 25 years, and the right banner depicts the frequently used words that Bert has used in his scientific publications, the frequency of use is represented by the size of the word.