Science - June 16, 2010

Willem de Vos most enterprising scientist

Professor of Microbiology Willem de Vos has been declared by Science Alliance on 8 June as the most enterprising scientist in the Netherlands.

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De Vos has many patents and startup companies under his name. An example is Microdish, set up in 2008 together with his colleague Colin Ingham to develop micro petri-dishes. These are strips a few square centimeters big, comprising a million microscopic petri-dishes which researchers can use for quick and automated research into bacteria.
'Innovation begins with yourself', quips De Vos in his thank-you speech. 'It requires a certain mindset, commitment and a proper allocation of time and money. But innovation is not a standalone activity. Therefore, I want to express thanks to my (former) colleagues Pieter Vos, Colin Ingham, Mirjana Rajilic, Martin Hessing and Bert Tuk.'
Science Alliance is an organization which aims to stimulate knowledge exchange and cooperation between universities and private companies by providing advice and mediation. A professional jury chose De Vos out of fourteen candidates nominated by the rectors of the various universities.