Jan H. van Bemmel (born 17 November 1938) is a Dutch former professor of

medical informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

and the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanis ...

. He was rector magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam between 2000 and 2003.

Career

Van Bemmel was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

on 17 November 1938. He studied physics at

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

, where he obtained a degree in 1963. He subsequently started working for the Medical-Physical Institute of the

Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO; en, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is an independent research organisation in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science. The organisat ...

(TNO). At the institute he was head of the workgroup of biomedical signalanalysis. Six years later he earned his

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

title at the faculty of physics and mathematics of the

Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century ...

. His thesis concerned challenges of signal processing applied to fetal electrocardiography. In 1973 Van Bemmel stopped working for TNO and was appointed as professor of medical informatics at the

. In 1987 Van Bemmel became professor of medical informatics at the

. He served as ''

rector magnificus A rector ( Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in ...

'' of the University between 2000 and 2003. His research has amongst other topics focused on biomedical signal and image analysis, medical information systems and

electronic health record An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...

s. He started his work on the latter during the 1980s and later expanded into the signal and image analytics. The

American Medical Informatics Association The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the development and application of biomedical and health informatics in the support of patient care, teaching, research, and health care adm ...

has called him "instrumental in the development of medical informatics as a discipline". He served as president of the

International Medical Informatics Association The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) is an independent organization that plays a role in promoting and furthering the application of information science in modern society, particularly in the fields of healthcare, bioscience ...

from 1998 to 2001. Van Bemmel was elected a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

in 1987. He became a corresponding member of the National Academy of Medicine in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bemmel, Jan van 1938 births Living people Delft University of Technology alumni Dutch medical researchers Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam Health informaticians Members of the National Academy of Medicine Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Scientists from Rotterdam Radboud University Nijmegen alumni Rectors of universities in the Netherlands Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam