Herman van Bekkum (26 September 1932 – 30 November 2020) was a Dutch organic chemist. He was professor of

Catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

in Organic Chemistry between 1971 and 1998 at

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

. He served as rector magnificus of the university between 1975 and 1976. He was an expert in the field of

carbohydrate chemistry A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

and

zeolite Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...

Career

Van Bekkum was born on 26 September 1932 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. He studied technological chemistry at

and graduated in 1959. He subsequently worked two years for

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

before returning to Delft University to work as lecturer. In 1971 he was named professor of Catalysis in Organic Chemistry. From 1975 to 1976 he served as

rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world, the rector is often the most senior official in a u ...

of the university. As professor van Bekkum specialized in

and the study of

s. In 1995 van Bekkum was appointed as the first president of the newly-founded Federation of the European Zeolite Association. In 1998 he officially retired, however, by 2013 he was still working at the university. In his period at Delft University van Bekkum was

doctoral advisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

to 75 students. Van Bekkum was elected member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1995. He became an honorary member of the

Royal Netherlands Chemical Society The Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (In Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Vereniging'', abbreviated: KNCV) is a learned society and professional association founded in 1903 to represent the interests of chemists and chemical engineers ...

in 1998. Apart from his career in chemistry van Bekkum was a competitive chess player. He died on 30 November 2020 in Rotterdam, at age 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bekkum, Herman van 1932 births 2020 deaths Delft University of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology 20th-century Dutch chemists Dutch chess players Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Organic chemists Scientists from Rotterdam Rectors of universities in the Netherlands