Prof.dr. Gerard van Koten

The Royal Dutch Chemical Society is pleased to appoint

Prof. Dr. G. van Koten

as an honorary member of the Society for his great services to chemistry and society in the broadest sense. In addition, for his role as a former member and former chair of the KNCV board and his leadership in the “renewal of chemistry education in HAVO and VWO” in particular.

Professor Gerard van Koten (born in 1942) was professor emeritus at Utrecht University/UU until 2013 (after his retirement in 2007). He studied chemistry at the UU (doctorate in 1967). In 1967, he joined TNO, and in 1974, he obtained his doctorate (Summa Cum Laude) at UU (supervisor Prof. G.J.H. van der Kerk). In 1977, he was appointed personal professor of Organometallic Chemistry at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). In 1986, he moved back to UU, where he was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry and Catalysis at the Debye Institute. Professor Van Koten has also been a university professor at UU since 2004.

Professor Van Koten is the author of more than 800 scientific publications and has 35 patents to his name. He was a member of the Chemistry Steering Group and, at the request of the government, was jointly responsible for innovations in the chemical industry and at universities. From January 2008 to December 2009, Professor Van Koten was chairman of the KNCV. Professor Van Koten has made a name for himself in the Dutch chemical industry, particularly in the field of educational innovation, which was the main reason for the award of the Van Marumpenning 2011.

In 2002, Gerard van Koten was appointed by the then Minister of Education, Culture and Science as chair of a committee responsible for the renewal of chemistry education in secondary education (known nationally as the Van Koten Committee). Since this appointment in 2002, Professor Van Koten has been continuously committed to the renewal of chemistry education in secondary education. An important starting point for Professor Van Koten has always been to highlight the social relevance of chemistry more clearly, so that students gain a clear picture of the role that chemistry plays in society. As the figurehead and driving force behind first the “Van Koten Committee” and later the “New Chemistry Steering Group”, Professor Van Koten has been a major source of inspiration for secondary school teachers for nine years. This led to the development of a new, widely supported curriculum by secondary school teachers themselves, which was introduced in HAVO and VWO in September 2013.