Former IAP President Robbert Dijkgraaf becomes Netherlands’s Minister of Education, Culture and Science

Dutch theoretical physicist Robbert Dijkgraaf is the new Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Dijkgraaf served as the first President of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) from 2016 to 2017 and as co-chair of IAP Policy from 2008 to 2016. He also served as President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences from 2008 to 2012.

His research focus is on string theory, quantum gravity, and the interface between mathematics and particle physics. His research was recognised in 2003 with the award of the NWO Spinoza Prize, the highest scientific award in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Robbert Dijkgraaf has been a guest professor at universities including Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, and Kyoto. He is on the editorial boards of numerous scientific periodicals and is a distinguished public policy adviser and passionate advocate for science and the arts.

IAP sends Robbert Dijkgraaf its warmest congratulations on this appointment and wishes him well in his new role.