Silvia Lenaerts ( Bree, 1966) is a Belgian chemist. She has been

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 ...

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology (), Abbreviation, abbr. TU/e, is a public university, public technical university in the Netherlands, situated in Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its Bachelor of Science, BS ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

since 11 May 2023. Before that, she was the first vice-rector of valorisation & development at the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp () is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UAntwerp''. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Lenaerts is the first female rector of a technical university in the Netherlands. She is a strong advocate of cooperation between universities, government, and industry in finding solutions to societal problems.

Education and early career

Lenaerts studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

KULeuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main campu ...

. She was the first chemist to obtain a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

IMEC Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC; officially stylised as imec) is an international Research and development, research & development organization, active in the fields of nanoelectronics and Digital electronics, digital technologies ...

. IMEC is the Flemish research centre for nanoelectronics and digital technology. In the following years, Lenaerts was involved in a startup to develop gas sensors. This technology was acquired by Bosch.

University of Antwerp

In 2007, Lenaerts left for the

. There she became head of the Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL) research group she founded. At the same university, Lenaerts became vice-rector with the Valorisation and Development portfolio in 2016. As vice-rector, Lenaerts dedicated herself to connecting the Antwerp university with Flemish business, society and (European, federal and Flemish) government, focusing on three areas:

digitisation Digitization is the process of converting information into a Digital data, digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ...

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

chemistry and materials, and

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. She held several directorships, including at Lantis (Livable Antwerp through Innovation and Cooperation).

Rector magnificus TU Eindhoven

Lenaerts has been

(president) of

(TU Eindhoven) in the Netherlands since 11 May 2023. She was the first female rector of a technical university in the Netherlands. 6] She also leads Eindhoven University's Future Chips flagship, focused on

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...

technology, in collaboration with strategic research and innovation partners in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Work for Europe

Since 2002, Lenaerts has worked for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

as an expert, reviewer, adviser on framework programmes and member of the expert groups of the

European University Association The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 institutions of higher education in 48 countries, providing them with a forum for cooperation and the exchange of information on higher education and research policies. Members of ...

(EUA) on research and innovation strategy, and on innovation ecosystems. In 2022, she joined the

European Institute of Innovation and Technology The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established in 2008 intended to strengthen Europe's ability to innovate.

(EIT) as a board member.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenaerts, Silvia Living people Belgian women chemists KU Leuven alumni Rectores Magnifici of the Eindhoven University of Technology Year of birth missing (living people)