Dies Natalis

The celebration of the 105th Dies Natalis of Wageningen University & Research took place on 9 March 2023. This year’s theme was: Blue Transitions. Shaping Sustainable Marine Futures.

105th Dies Natalis | Blue Transitions. Shaping Sustainable Marine Futures

9 March 2023 | 15:00-17:00hrs
Wageningen Campus, Orion Building, Bronland 1, Wageningen

Wageningen University & Research celebrated its 105th anniversary on Thursday, 9 March. The theme of the celebration was Blue Transitions, Shaping Sustainable Marine Futures. The speakers discussed the challenges and opportunities related to intensified use of seas and oceans. In addition to presentations and addresses on this topic, Honorary Doctorates were conferred, and the Research Award was presented.

The theme: Blue Transitions, Shaping Sustainable Marine Futures

Wind turbines, fisheries, mining at sea, sand mining, container vessels. There is increasing activity at sea. How can these increasingly busy seas and oceans be designed and used sustainably? How can we use marine systems in a sustainable way? How are the quality of coastal and seawater, nature conservation and biodiversity and marine-dependent communities impacted? These are all issues on which Wageningen University & Research focuses, for example, through its new Marine Sciences programme. The 105th Dies Natalis focuses on Blue Transitions, Shaping Sustainable Marine Futures, to raise awareness for the importance of sustainable marine management.

Watch the videos

Introduction: Prof.dr ir. Arthur P.J. Mol

The sustainable management of seas and oceans require specific knowledge. That is what Prof.dr.ir. Arthur P.J. Mol, Rector Magnificus and Vice-President of Wageningen University & Research, said in his introduction of the 105th Dies Natalis. According to Mol, the challenges in and around the sea are increasing and the 'blue transition' requires WUR's knowledge and insights, including those offered by the new Marine Sciences program and the Delta Climate Center.

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Dies Lecture: Prof. dr Beatrice Crona

According to keynote speaker Prof. dr Beatrice Crona, the aquatic economy must diversify. Aquatic food systems can become more sustainable and resilient if we look beyond the few dominant fish species. Beatrice Crona is a professor of Sustainability Sciences in Sweden, Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Center and a leading expert on transdisciplinary approaches to global marine sustainability, including aquatic food systems.

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Presentation Maryna Strokal

Dr Maryna Strokal, MSc, takes her audience on a journey to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea, where she used to swim. Pollution makes swimming in the river impossible now. Strokal’s work focuses on a future without pollution. She leads a team at Wageningen University & Research that works on computer models for water pollution and solutions to this problem. She paints a picture of the future where rivers carry 85% fewer microplastics to the sea.

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Presentation Joshua Wambugu

Half of the world’s coral reefs have disappeared, and the remaining half is not doing very well either. Still, PhD candidate Joshua Wambugu has a message of hope. He sees an increasing number of regions where scientists and local communities work together to restore coral. Wambugu works at the Marine Animal Ecology and the Environmental Policy groups. His focus as a researcher is on coral reef systems and community-driven marine nature conservation.

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Watch Dies Natalis 2023

The entire Dies Natalis 2023 in the Orion building can be viewed below. Including the opening by Prof.dr.ir. Arthur P.J. Mol, the lecture on aquatic food systems by Prof.dr Beatrice Crona, the presentations by dr Maryna Strokal and Joshua Wambugu Phd, the nominations to award honorary doctorates to Valerie Trouet, Dennis David Baldocchi and Willy Verstraete and the presentation of the Research Award to WUR researcher Balwina Koopal.

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Honorary doctorate Dennis Baldocchi

Prof.dr Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arellano, Professor of Meteorology and Air Quality, nominates Dennis David Baldocchi, Professor of Biometeorology, for an honorary doctorate, partly because of his work on the observation network FLUXNET and the 'eddy covariance technique'.

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Honorary doctorate Valerie Trouet

Prof. Dr. Ir. Frits Mohren, Professor of Forest Ecology and Forest Management, has nominated Prof. Dr. Ir. Valerie Trouet for an honorary doctorate. Mohren points out that Trouet has carried out important research on the correlation between tree rings and climate.

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Honorary doctorate Willy Verstraete

Huub Rijnaarts, Professor of Environment and Water Technology, nominates emeritus Prof. Dr Ir. Willy Verstraete for an honorary doctorate. Willy Verstraete is a passionate advocate of microbial resource management as a path to a sustainable world.

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More about the 105th Dies Natalis

Programme

13.00 Masterclasses for employees, students, PhD candidates and postdocs
14.00 Welcoming reception and registration
15.00 Introduction: Prof.dr ir. Arthur P.J. Mol | Rector Magnificus and Vice-President of Wageningen University & Research
Dies Lecture: Prof.dr Beatrice Crona | Science Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University and Executive Director of the Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Programme, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Intermezzo
Presentations by young scientists dr Maryna Strokal and Joshua Wambugu MSc
Conferral of Honorary Doctorates: Prof.dr Dennis David Baldocchi, Prof.dr ir. Valerie Trouet, Prof.dr ir. Willy Verstraete
Presentation Research Award
17.00 Reception

Posters Dies Natalis

Previous editions of the Dies Natalis

Dies Natalis 2022: Metamorphoses. Shaping tomorrow’s university education

What are the trends in university education? How do we want or expect higher education to look like in 2030? Will the student of 2030 still follow a full programme at one university? Will education still take place on campus or move to other educational spaces? And what does this mean for innovating education today?

Dies Natalis 2021: Pandemic Prevention, Prediction and Preparedness

The 103rd Dies Natalis took place on 9 March. Online, this time, due to the global outbreak of COVID-19. Wageningen University & Research is also affected by the pandemic and is working on preventing future outbreaks in different ways.