Flag at half-mast for deceased professor Rens Voesenek

"Journalists have less than a second per press release so they go through messages diagonally. But if you explain to them what the research is about and why it matters, a world opens up to them — especially if you have nice pictures as well," said Voesenek to DUB a few years ago (article in Dutch only, Ed.). He managed to get a lot of media attention for his research, in which he investigated how to make crops more resistant to water, particularly in times of flooding. 

"It wasn't unusual for students and colleagues to be hanging on Voesenek's every word as he could talk about his research with great passion. He was a keen, passionate, and motivated researcher who would walk through fire for his colleagues,” writes the dean Isabel Arends in an in-memoriam notice published on UU’s website. While working in Utrecht, Rens Voesenek supervised 35 PhD students. In addition, he served as head of the Biology department and vice-dean of Education at the Faculty of Science.

Future Food
From 2014 to 2019, he occupied the position of chairman of Future Food Utrecht, which was part of the strategic theme Pathways to Sustainability. Future Food is a platform comprising Utrecht-based scientists and social organisations, which work together on the transition to a sustainable food chain. This could concern the way in which food is produced, for example, but it also takes a look at health and consumer behaviour.

In 2019, for instance, Voesenek was involved with the Future Food Lab, a special food island that was set up in the middle of the Educatorium canteen, where only products that met a series of sustainability criteria were on offer. For example, all sandwiches and soup were vegetarian and the ingredients were sourced from regional suppliers. "A lot of research is being conducted in this university about biodiversity, sustainable food and its effects on society. It's only logical to also look into how the university can put that into practice," Voesenek explained at the time.

Royal honour
Rens Voesenek had been sick for quite some time. Early this year, in the conservatory of the university's Botanical Gardens, the mayor of his hometown, Oijen, appointed him Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion. The presentation underlined his commitment to society and his ability to inspire people to dedicate themselves to a higher cause. In an interview to the local newspaper Brabants Dagblad, given right after the decoration, he said: "My father was a gardener. Basically, so am I. It's just that I try to get to the foundation of everything that grows and flourishes. The cells from which all life is built. That's where the key to our health and a clean, green living environment lies. To be allowed to devote all your time to that is a privilege."