Two Royal Decorations at Groningen Faculty of Science and Engineering

On Friday morning 29 April 2011 two University of Groningen nominees received a Royal Decoration. Prof. J.M. van der Hulst and Prof. P.G.M. Luiten have been appointed Knights in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. Van der Hulst has a major reputation as an astronomy researcher. As chair of the board of the NWO Foundation ASTRON he was responsible for the expansion of the radio observatories at Dutch Dwingeloo and Westerbork, particularly when the advanced radio telescope LOFAR was conceived.

Luiten is professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biological Psychiatry and conducted pioneering research into the rol of reduced blood flow in brain tissue at the onset of dementia.

Five other University of Groningen nominees received a Royal Decoration: Prof. F.T. Oldenhuis, Prof. G.J.E. Ashworth, Prof. G.C.G. Dehue, Prof. H.L.M. Hermans and Prof. L. Hacquebord.

Mr Prof. J.M. van der Hulst

Thijs van der Hulst (The Hague, 1948) has a major reputation as an astronomy researcher in the global radio astronomy field and has contributed much to the positioning of the Netherlands in that field. He was chair of the board of the NWO Foundation ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, which aims to stimulate astronomy within and outside the Netherlands via the development of observation equipment for astronomers. In that capacity Van der Hulst was responsible for the exploitation and expansion of the radio observatories at Dwingeloo and Westerbork, particularly in the period when the scientifically very advanced radio telescope LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) was conceived.

Thijs van der Hulst has been appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

Mr Prof. P.G.M. Luiten

Paul Luiten (The Hague, 1948), professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biological Psychiatry, specializes in research on the molecular processes that cause Alzheimer’s disease. His research is highly regarded internationally, as evidenced by the many times that his work is cited in the scientific literature and the many invitations he receives to speak at scientific conferences.

Luiten has conducted pioneering research into the role of reduced blood flow in brain tissue at the onset of dementia. He demonstrated that ageing is usually accompanied by a narrowing of the blood vessels in the brain. This means that the nutrient glucose is less able to reach the brain cells.

In addition, Luiten developed a method of researching the degeneration of an ageing brain that significantly reduces the number of laboratory animals needed. One side of the brain serves as a control for the artificially induced degeneration of the other half. This method, currently copied all over the world, reduces the number of animals needed by fifty percent.

Paul Luiten has been appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.