The Supervisory Board of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has appointed prof.dr.ir. Frank Baaijens (Geleen, 1958) as Rector Magnificus. With effect from 1 May 2015 he will be the successor to prof.dr.ir. Hans van Duijn, who leaves TU/e at the annual Dies Natalis celebration on 30 April. Baaijens is currently Vice Dean of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), associate scientific director of the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), interim director of the TU/e strategic area Health and scientific director of BioMedical Materials Program (BMM). He is also professor of Soft Tissue Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering at BME. The new Rector comes from within TU/e’s own ranks. He studied and gained his PhD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Baaijens gained his engineer’s title in 1983 in mechanical engineering at TU/e. He also carried out his PhD research there, gaining his doctorate in 1987. From 1985 to 1995 he worked as researcher at Philips Research in Eindhoven. In 1990 he was appointed as part-time professor, followed in 1995 by his appointment as full-time professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Since 2002 Baaijens has been professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, where he was dean from 2003 to 2007. As well as his current role as researcher and professor, Frank Baaijens is associate editor of the Journal of Biomechanics and member of the Advisory Board Department of Bioengineering Imperial College in London. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute of Bioengineering EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Applied Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. 

Challenge
Baaijens sees the position of Rector Magnificus as a big challenge, and regards his appointment as a great honor. In his view TU/e is an outstanding university. “There’s a high level of involvement that promotes talent and quality. TU/e is an institute that is right at the heart of the community, with strengths in education, research and partnerships with industry. I’m looking forward to building further on these strengths together with the whole TU/e community, and to strengthening our international position and working on today’s societal challenges.”

“We are appointing an excellent successor to Hans van Duijn”, says Baptiest Coopmans, chairman of the Supervisory Board of TU/e. “We greatly appreciate the work of Van Duijn and what he has achieved in the past years. With his high level of involvement, Frank Baaijens is able to bridge the worlds of education and research. He is himself a top researcher, who also understands how to successfully gain research funding. He can see the strategic picture and choices and is an advocate of multidisciplinary education and research, which is exactly what TU/e itself aims for.”