Vinod Subramaniam appointed as new rector magnificus at VU University Amsterdam
Director FOM Institute AMOLF starts on 1 September
The Supervisory Board of the VU-VUmc Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of AMOLF director Vinod Subramaniam to the post of rector magnificus at VU University Amsterdam. He will take over the position on 1 September from Frank van der Duyn Schouten, who has served as the rector magnificus since 1 May 2013. Subramaniam is currently the director of the FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam and professor at the University of Twente.
Wim Kuijken, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the VU-VUmc Foundation, remarks: “The Supervisory Board is confident that Vinod Subramaniam will be an approachable rector magnificus who will forge new links throughout the university community. He brings a sense of diversity and broad international experience to the post; this perspective will enable us at VU University Amsterdam to emphasize diversity and internationalization even more than is currently the case. In addition, Subramaniam has a strong research profile and he is deeply conscious of our university’s key responsibilities in the field of education and will act accordingly.”
Vinod Subramaniam looks forward and backward: “I see VU University as a special place, partly because of the wide diversity in the student population, which means the university is uniquely able to fulfil its societal remit as an institute of higher learning. VU University hosts top scientists and very dedicated teachers that put effort into the education of our students on a daily basis. I look forward to contributing to this noble cause as the new rector magnificus, together with all staff and students. During the short period that I have been director at AMOLF, I have experienced the institute as an inspiring place where excellent and driven colleagues perform world-class research. The institute is on track, and enriches the Dutch scientific landscape. I am confident that AMOLF will find a worthy successor”.
FOM-director Christa Hooijer: “This is a great opportunity for Vinod and it is an honor to see a FOM director become rector magnificus. After his arrival at AMOLF in 2013 Vinod implemented his vision for AMOLF and since then he has been able to turn many of his ideas into reality. I want to thank him for his dedication and wish him all the best.”
University experience
Subramaniam (born in India in 1967) studied electrical engineering at Cornell University. He received his PhD in 1996 from the University of Michigan (USA) in technical physics based on his dissertation on the use of laser spectroscopy for protein research. Later he was associated with the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen (Germany), and in 2002 he became a senior researcher with AstraZeneca in the UK. In 2004 he became a professor at the University of Twente. Subramaniam has been a senior fellow and visiting professor at the University of Konstanz (Germany) since 2011 and from May 2012 to September 2013, he was also the Scientific Director of the MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine at the University of Twente.
More information
For more information please contact the VU University Press Office, +31 (0)20 598 56 66, pers@vu.nl.