- People
- 30/04/2025
“Genuine and personal attention is what counts”
Gerrit Kroesen bids farewell to the university after nearly half a century
Without Gerrit Kroesen, the Department of Applied Physics and Education Science would not be what it is today. He arrived there in 1977 as a student, became a member of study association Van der Waals, worked his way up to full professor and also served as dean for some time. Under his leadership, the number of women at TU/e increased and the merger with the Eindhoven School of Education took place. His motto: “Stay authentic, genuinely care about others and tell the truth.”
Gerrit Kroesen can be described as a physicist, a professor, a manager, and a pipe organ enthusiast – but above all, he is someone who genuinely cares about the people around him.
“It makes a huge difference whether students can look back fondly on their student days or whether they leave frustrated by something or other.” That is why he deeply values the existence of the Van der Waals study association, the same club that welcomed him with open arms as a first-year student in 1977. And the feeling is mutual. Well before his retirement, in 2020, the study association named him an honorary member, which really moved him. It is the first thing he mentions when asked about the highlights of his career.
Gender balance
Another source of joy for him is the increase in the number of female scientists. “It took a great amount of effort, but we managed to climb from three percent to over thirty percent. We started our efforts long before the introduction of the Irene Curie Program (which involved TU/e committing to prioritize women in the first six months of a vacancy, Ed.).”
The effort and the success were due to a personal approach. “When I became dean in 2012, there was one female lecturer. In 2018, there were three.” When Applied Physics (AP) had six vacancies to fill that year, they took an unconventional approach. “We wanted to hire only women and asked everyone in de department for names of suitable candidates. We received a total of 250 names, and I sent each and every one of them a personal email explaining who had recommended them and why.
This resulted in one hundred applications. A quarter of them were invited by the appointment advisory committee to spend an entire day here. I personally welcomed all those women in the morning and spoke to them again afterwards. It worked well. I also asked them whether they would have applied if they hadn’t received my first email, and without exception, the answer was ‘no’.” It was a good first step towards a healthier gender balance, and it earned him the 2020 Diversity Award from the Netherlands Physical Society.
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Kroesen is convinced that personal and genuine attention is crucial. He personally experienced this as a child when a primary school teacher noticed that young Gerrit was bored and steered him in the right direction. That is why he shows genuine interest in the students and staff around him. “My motto is: stay authentic, genuinely care about others and tell the truth.”
Telling the truth is not always easy. “Because of my ongoing policy to increase the number of women, I’ve often had to disregard potential male candidates. That didn’t make me popular at such times.”
Difficult time
In 2014 and 2015, Kroesen was seriously ill. He underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Still, as dean, he remained the primary person responsible for the department. “For important decisions, I was expected to come to campus. And I did. Bald and thin, I walked to meetings behind a walker. I received a lot of understanding and help from the managing directors Alfons Bruekers and Jolie van Wevelingen and from vice dean Herman Clercx, which made it manageable.”
A few years later, he was confronted with a reorganization. “Emotionally, I found that to be a low point, but it was both necessary and meaningful. Each year, Applied Physics had a deficit of over a million euros on a budget of eight million. We were forced to cut back on personnel expenses. It was rough, but we managed to get through it without any forced layoffs. I took every individual case personally. It really weighed on me. The months of uncertainty for the employees is what I felt was the worst part. Jolie and I personally handed over all the status letters, which described each employee’s new place in the organization, rather than sending them by mail. Those were long and hard days, but in the end, we became financially healthy again.”
As of 2022, the Eindhoven School of Education (ESoE) and Applied Physics form the new APSE department together. The motivation behind this is that Kroesen is considered to be education-minded and AP is a department that focuses on educational innovation.
Decade do-over
If Kroesen got to relive one of the five decades he spent at TU/e, it would be the one in which he became a professor and vice dean, in 2000 and 2007, respectively. “Managing a group of scientists, dealing with financial policies and everything that comes with it – that’s something you learn along the way. I had no training in it, I learned on the job. I learned how to teach well on the backs of students. I learned how to lead well on the backs of employees. Nothing bad happened, but I would’ve liked to have had the proper training. I think it’s a good thing that such training is available now and that it’s more or less mandatory. Because at 42, I probably still had the nerve to believe I had all the answers.”
“What I’m increasingly convinced of is that mathematics and physics are the mother and father of modern technology, including AI and photonics. Without physics, chips wouldn’t exist. Although generative AI can suggest physical laws that haven’t been found yet, the question remains whether these suggestions are correct. A more powerful ChatGPT requires a more powerful computer – and you’re not going to achieve that by training more linguists. Physicists are desperately needed for technological progress.”
Someone who has been a part of TU/e for half a century is never truly gone just like that. Kroesen will remain involved in research to some extent. He will also continue to focus on the transition from pre-university education (VWO) to TU/e’s Bachelor College and he will continue to mentor at least ten people. “In addition, I’ve been asked to lend a hand in the pipe organ community, with political parties and other things like that. But for everything that comes my way, I take it one step at a time in deciding what I’ll take on.”
Prof. Dr. Ir. Gerrit Kroesen will deliver his valedictory lecture on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:00 PM in the Blauwe Zaal. At 5:15 PM, a mini-concert will be given on the TU/e pipe organ. Organist Ruud Huijbregts will perform Léon Boëllmann’s “Suite Gotique.”
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