Alumnus of the Year

Stef van Grieken, Alumnus of the Year 2024

‘Even though the use of AI is complex and sometimes controversial in our society, Stef shows that you can also do very useful things with it, that can actually help society progress. , says the jury report on the new Alumnus of the Year 2024: Stef van Grieken.
After a dream career in Silicon Valley Stef changed course and started Cradle in 2021. This platform uses AI to accelerate the developments of practical, applicable proteins. Just as ChatGPT can help write a text, Cradle’s AI helps to find the most promising protein constructs that can be used for a medicine or an alternative for plastic, milk, or a detergent, for example. As a result, the development time of these products can be drastically reduced.

Read the full jury report here>>

Read the interview with Stef in Broerstraat 5 here (soon online)>>

Previous Alumni of the Year are:

(As of 2022, the nomination and the awarding of the prize will take place in the same year)

About the Alumnus of the Year award

To qualify for the title of Alumnus of the Year, a candidate must meet the following criteria. We are looking for people who:

• Have made an exceptional contribution to society, research, culture or sports,
• Are an inspiration to others
• Are a promise for the future (the Alumnus of the Year award is a midcareer prize).

The prize for the Alumnus of the Year is a specially designed sculpture of visual artist Wia van Dijk. The 'Athena Noctua' is a pure and powerful bronze statue that stands for wisdom, curiosity, and pride. Each year the sculpture is personalized by changing the color of the eyes to match the personality of the winner.

• Wia van Dijk