Prof. Dr. Bert Meijer

The Royal Netherlands Chemical Society is pleased to appoint

Prof. Dr. E.W. Meijer

as an honorary member of the Society in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of supramolecular chemistry.

Together with Prof. Ben Feringa, Prof. Roeland Nolte and Prof. David Reinhoudt, Meijer forms the so-called Dutch Golden Quartet in the field of supramolecular chemistry. The four have played a prominent role in the development of this chemical discipline, putting the Netherlands on the international map.

Meijer is considered a pioneer in the field of supramolecular materials. He is internationally recognised for his contribution to the discovery of supramolecular polymers with controlled order and dynamics. Whereas in conventional polymers the building blocks are linked by stable, covalent bonds, these bonds are dynamic in supramolecular polymers. Meijer and his team were the first to demonstrate that this approach can be used to form a material with unprecedented properties. He has received two ERC Advanced Grants and various awards, including a Spinoza Prize and the KNCV Gold Medal.

Meijer obtained his PhD cum laude from the University of Groningen in 1982 under the supervision of Prof. Wijnberg. He then conducted research into polymers at Philips Research Laboratories. In 1989, he became head of the New Materials department at DSM Research. Two years later, Meijer joined Eindhoven University of Technology, where he became professor of organic chemistry. In 2014, the KNAW appointed him as an academy professor. Under Meijer's supervision, nearly one hundred students have obtained their doctorates and more than 800 papers have been published (h-index of 110).

The KNCV praises Meijer for his enormous contribution to the Dutch chemical and scientific community, for example as chair of NWO Chemical Science, but currently also as quartermaster of the new investment plans for scientific research.