KNAW appoints two UG professors as members

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has appointed Professor of Health Econometrics Gerard van den Berg (UG/UMCG) and Professor of Logic and Cognition Rineke Verbrugge (UG) as members of the Academy. A total of 23 new members have been appointed. Members of the KNAW, prominent academics from all disciplines, are chosen on the basis of their academic achievements. The KNAW now has around 550 members. Membership is for life. The new Academy members will be installed on Monday 13 September.

About the research being conducted by Gerard van den Berg (1962)

Gerard van den Berg uses enormous data sets to analyse the role that economic factors play in various aspects of human life. One of his ground-breaking research projects examined the impact of the economic circumstances surrounding people’s birth on their subsequent health and well-being. Another of his projects explored the cohesion between government policy, the duration of unemployment and salary levels. His work has led to policy amendments that have improved the lives of millions of unemployed people in Germany, Sweden and France. On his advice, for example, the strict sanctions imposed on unemployed people who did not apply for jobs frequently enough were withdrawn. After years of working at various foreign universities, Van den Berg returned to Groningen last year.

About the research of Rineke Verbrugge (1965)

Rineke Verbrugge trained in logic and the foundations of mathematics, and made a significant contribution to the fields of provability logic and epistemic logic. She then broadened her horizons and successfully switched to the logic of interactive systems, such as groups of people working together. Her work is highly interdisciplinary, creatively combining the fields of mathematical logic, artificial intelligence and cognitive science. Verbrugge has published multiple articles on intelligent interaction. She developed a famous game that brings together the perspectives of logic, game theory and cognitive psychology. She also built the first formal model for working together in teams, which is able to connect information flows, collective intentions and joint planning activities with each other.

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