Prof. Hendrik Van Brussel

Chair, R&D advisor board VESALIUS Robot   Prof. Dr. ir. H. Van Brussel obtained the degree of technical engineer ("technisch ingenieur") in mechanical engineering (B.Sc. ME) in 1965 from HTI, Oostende, Belgium; of civil engineer ("burgerlijk ingenieur") in electronic engineering (M.Sc. EE) in 1968 from K.U. Leuven and of Doctor of Applied Sciences (Ph.D.) in 1971, also from K.U. Leuven. After obtaining his PhD he was an expert at the Metal Industries Development Centre (MIDC), Bandung, Indonesia, and associate professor at “Institut Teknologi”, also in Bandung, after which he was appointed at K.U. Leuven. In his whole career, spanning a period of almost 40 years, he has been active in the boundary zone between several disciplines (mechanical engineering, electronics and control engineering, information technology), a domain which is presently called "mechatronics". In fact, Professor Van Brussel truly is one of the founders of mechatronics. Professor Van Brussel is a Fellow of the SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) and of the IEEE. He is Doctor Honoris Causa at the Universitatea “Politehnica”, Bucarest, Romania, the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany, and the “Transilvania” University of Braşov, Romania. He is recipient of the SME F.W. Taylor Research Medal, the Joseph Engelberger Award of the International Federation of Robotics, and several other international awards and prizes. Last year he received the Gerolf-Schlesinger Prize with the citation: “für hervorragende wissenschaftliche Leistungen auf dem Gebiet der Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigungstechnik”. Professor Van Brussel served as president of CIRP (The International Academy for Production Engineering) and of euspen (European Society for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology), and he has been instrumental in the setting up of Flanders’ Mechatronics Technology Centre. Professor Van Brussel advised more than 80 PhD theses. Hundreds of students remember him from his inspired and inspiring lectures in systems theory, electronics, sensors and measurement systems, flexible manufacturing systems, mechatronic drive systems, precision engineering, design of mechatronic systems, mechanical reliability engineering, internal transportation systems, and statistics.