Agnites Vrolik Award

Winner 2023: Ralph Temmink

Dr. Ralph Temmink can proudly call himself the winner of the fourth Agnites Vrolik Prize. He received the prize for his pioneering research on restoring ecosystems with 3D printers on Friday 9 June from Professor José van Dijck worth €25,000.

The social impact of the research is very evident

Restoring ecosystems

Ralph Temmink, nominated by the Faculty of Geosciences, is researching how to design and produce 3D-printed biodegradable structures that mimic nature and can be used in large-scale nature restoration. This approach has already been used to develop artificial reefs to restore mussel and oyster beds in the Wadden Sea. "My fascination stems from the fact that we have already lost many ecosystems. I want to use my work to contribute to gaining knowledge about how specific ecosystems work and then see how we can then actually apply that knowledge in restoring those ecosystems. Currently, the methods to do this successfully and cost-effectively are still missing," Temmink said.

Jury report

The jury, consisting of  prof. dr. Erik van Sebille, dr. René Kuijten MBA, prof. dr. Marca Wauben, mr. drs. Steven Martina en Juryvoorzitter prof. dr. José van Dijck named several reasons for the win:

• The research on ecosystem restoration touches on a large and current global problem.
• The social impact of the research is very evident.
• It involves high-quality, transdisciplinary fundamental research.
• Ralph Temmink actively seeks to connect with stakeholders, such as conservation organisations, government and educational institutions and industry.
• He makes great efforts to highlight the importance of nature conservation and ecosystems in various media (e.g. in NOS news, National Geographic and Klokhuis).

Previous winners Agnites Vrolik Award

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  2020: Erik van Sebille
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  2019: Hester den Ruijter
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  2018: Daphina Misiedjan