UU graduate and a professor at the University of Amsterdam
Environmental scientist Annemarie van Wezel becomes new dean of Geosciences
Annemarie van Wezel. Photo: Ivar Pel
Van Wezel currently works as a Professor of Environmental Ecology at the University of Amsterdam. She is also the Scientific Director of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics. She specialises in research into the pollution of the living environment by chemicals from industrial processes and agriculture.
She also acts as an advisor. Van Wezel is a member of the Dutch Health Council and the Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides, two advisory councils of the national government. Moreover, she is on the scientific advisory board of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), where she used to work.
Utrecht University is familiar territory for Van Wezel (1968). She studied Biology at UU and obtained her PhD at what is now the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), which was then called Ritox. From 2013 to 2018, she was affiliated with Utrecht University as a professor by special appointment of “Water Quality and Health” at the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development. In 2019, she moved to the University of Amsterdam. She recently gave a guest lecture at Studium Generale on a toxin-free environment.
Deans are appointed by the Executive Board. UU President Anton Pijpers says that Van Wezel brings a combination of administrative experience and an impressive insight into the broad field of Geosciences. The fact that she knows the university from the inside while also having gained experience at other organisations is an advantage, in Pijpers' eyes.
Van Wezel is delighted to be returning to Utrecht. She appreciates the fact that Geosciences encompasses many disciplines, but at the same time operates in a well-defined field. She also comments on Utrecht Science Park: ‘The ecosystem of Utrecht Science Park has an excellent research infrastructure with applied knowledge institutes literally around the corner. Through collaboration, we can make a meaningful contribution to society.’ In 2025, the new RIVM headquarters, with which she is also involved, will open its doors at Utrecht Science Park.