PhD students of Alexander Rinnooy Kan reunite

Prof. Alexander Rinnooy Kan

In 1980 Alexander Rinnooy Kan was appointed Professor of Operations Research at the Econometric Institute of Erasmus School of Economics. In 1986 he became the Rector of Erasmus University Rotterdam, after which he continued his career outside of academia. His former positions include that of president of the Dutch employers’ federation VNO-NCW, member of the board of directors of ING Group and chairman of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER). He also was a member of the Dutch Senate and newspaper de Volkskrant named him “the most influential person in the Netherlands” in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Academic family

During his time at Erasmus School of Economics, Rinnooy Kan founded his academic family. He supervised 19 PhD students who successfully defended their dissertation and with whom he has stayed in touch over the years. The career paths of these former PhD students are quite diverse. Some hold positions in academia, also abroad, and have their own PhD students, thereby extending Rinnooy Kan‘s academic family with grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Others have been successful in the business world or they work at research institutes such as TNO. Every 3 to 4 years they reunite, typically at a company or organization associated with Rinnooy Kan or one of the former PhD students. On Tuesday, 12 September, the reunion was held for the first time at Erasmus School of Economics, the institution that connects all of them, which made it an extra special occasion. Unfortunately, not everyone could be present, but some made a big effort to be there. For instance, Edwin Romeijn, who is currently a professor in Atlanta at the Georgia Institute of Technology, came all the way from the US.

Campus Tour

Next, Charles Hermans, Director Alumni Affairs & Development at Erasmus School of Economics, took the whole party on a campus walking tour, which included visits to the Netherlands Economic Medal Cabinet, the desk of Jan Tinbergen, the Pierre Bayle Monument and other special places. Even for those already quite familiar with the current campus there were new things to learn.

Everything started here

The walking tour ended at the Erasmus Pavillion, where drinks and a dinner provided ample opportunity to reminisce about past events and to tell each other about current activities and future plans. In a short speech, Rinnooy Kan told his academic children that these reunions are very dear to him. The Econometric Institute still holds a very special place in his heart and he also believes that working at a place with such high quality standards has had a positive impact on the careers of everyone present. “Everything started here…”