Aarts, Emile - rector magnificus

E.H.L. (Emile) Aarts (1955) has been Rector Magnificus from 2015 until june 2019. He announced this withdrawal (in 2019) in november 2018. He was a physics student at the Catholic University of Nijmegen (now Radboud University) and obtained his PhD in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Groningen in 1983. In that same year, he was employed by Philips Research, where he was to hold various positions throughout his career and was appointed Chief Scientific Officer in 2009.

Innovation as a thread

In addition to his job with Philips Research, he obtained a part-time professorship at the Eindhoven University of Technology, initially as a Professor of Computer Science at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, and subsequently ‒ between 2007 and 2012 ‒ as a Professor of Industrial Design at the Faculty of Industrial Design. In 2012, when he became Dean of Mathematics and Computer Science, he entered into full-time appointment. As a mathematician-physicist, he became known as a pre-eminent expert in the field of Social Innovation Technologies and Open Innovation.

Data science and Mind Labs

In 2015, he became Rector Magnificus of Tilburg University. He was the first Rector who was not appointed from amongst the University’s own scientific staff and the first, moreover, with a background in technology and industry. Even in his Eindhoven days, Aarts was involved in a technology-sciences-humanities alliance in the field of data science. As Rector of Tilburg University, he advanced the alliance of the two Brabant universities, in which the provincial government of North-Brabant and the local government of ‘s-Hertogenbosch were also involved. This then led to the foundation of the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science, which was inaugurated by Queen Máxima on 1 December 2016.

He also played a major role as one of the founders of the Mind Labs. These labs are situated in the so called Spoorzone, in the city centre. Involved as well are Brabant Press, Zwijsen Publishers and Fontys University for Applied Sciences - school of Journalism.

Valorization

Aarts is a great advocate of the valorization of scientific research and has been a member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, a society that aims to bridge the gap between science and society, since 2014. Having been a member of the European ICT Advisory Board (ISTAG) and having chaired the NWO Exact Sciences Board for more than ten years, Aarts has a long track record as an international administrator.