As of 1 April, Eppo Bruins is the new chairman of the Dutch Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (AWTI). Until March of last year, he was a Member of Parliament for the Christenunie party, acting as the spokesperson for education, science, economic affairs and innovation. Before that, he headed the technology foundation STW and its successor, the domain Applied and Engineering Sciences of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). He holds MSc and PhD degrees in physics from Utrecht University.
“Knowledge is the only raw material that never runs out,” Bruins comments. “The future of our country is therefore determined by how we manage to link our science with innovations and new technology. AWTI is an advisory council made up of people who have earned their stripes in both the public and private sectors of R&D. Its members and staff therefore have an overview of the entire value chain. They speak and advise on this in a balanced and nuanced way. After twenty years of experience in and around science and five years of top-level politics, I find it a tremendous honor to be chairman of such an authoritative club of people. It’s my ambition to further increase the visibility, scope and impact of the AWTI recommendations in the years to come.”