Menko Victor (Pek) van Andel, known as a ‘serendipitiologist', got his university degree in medical research in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, where he developed, with the internationally known and inventive

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

Jan Worst Jan Worst (ca.1635, Amsterdam? – ca.1686, Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. The Dutch artist and art historian Arnold Houbraken described Worst as a painter of Italianate landscapes that were quite good, but he spent most of his t ...

, among other things, an artificial

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

as a treatment for

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

. In 2000, Van Andel won the satirical

Ig Nobel Prize The Ig Nobel Prize () is a satirical prize awarded annually since 1991 to promote public engagement with scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of the award is a ...

for medicine (for ‘improbable research’ that makes people laugh and then think) for the iconoclastic and classic

MRI scans Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

of human

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

, published in the ''British Medical Journal'' and inspired by

fMRI Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...

scans of the

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ (anatomy), organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal ...

of someone singing. Van Andel was one of the first researchers to study and extract serendipity patterns for accidental unsought knowledge discovery. He published an influential paper titled 'Anatomy of the unsought finding' in the ''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science''. In 2015 Van Andel gave a

TEDx talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

about that topic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andel, Pek van 1944 births Living people Dutch medical researchers Dutch ophthalmologists People from Haarlemmermeer University of Groningen alumni