Martinus (Tinus) Tels (16 August 1926 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 ''"Ne ...

– 2 January 2008 in

Veldhoven Veldhoven () is a municipality and town on the Gender in the southern Netherlands, just southwest of Eindhoven. Topography Dutch topographic map of Veldhoven (town), Dec. 2013 Population centres The modern town of Veldhoven is an agglomerat ...

) was a Dutch

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and chemical engineer. He was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of chemical engineering,

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the department of chemical engineering and the ninth

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 a un ...

of the

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc an ...

Biography

Martinus Tels was born on 16 August 1926 in

. He was the son of Harry Hijman Tels (a lawyer) and Lucie Juliette Elias. The Tels family was a reasonably prominent Jewish family in The Netherlands (in addition to Harry Hijman being a lawyer, Harry's grandfather Hartog Hijman Tels was the first editor of the NRC Handelsblad), as was the Elias family (the Elias family owned a large textile factory); because of this the family was added to the Barneveld group during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. As part of this group, Martinus Tels was interned in Barneveld, then in the

Westerbork transit camp Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, d ...

and finally in the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

. Surviving the war, he returned to The Netherlands by way of Switzerland in 1945. Arriving back in The Netherlands he completed his secondary education and then attended the

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 ...

to study chemistry. He stayed on at Delft as an associate professor (then called a ''hoofdassistent'' in Dutch), doing research in mixing solid oils with sugars and the purification of surface water. During these years he also worked for

zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

causes and was president of the (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Zionistenbond''). In 1960 he moved to Caltex, to become head of the

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

lab. He was with Caltex until 1969 and in that time also headed the pilot plants division and finally the division for ''"

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

and electronic data processing"''. In 1967 he was also appointed

extraordinary professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

of Physical Technology (now called Chemical Engineering) at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

; here he researched drag-reduction, the mixing of liquids in packed beds and thermal stability of adiabatic stirred reactors. Professor Tels was appointed full professor of physical technology at the department of Chemical Engineering of the

in 1974. In this position he researched the uses of

pyrolysis The pyrolysis (or devolatilization) process is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures, often in an inert atmosphere. It involves a change of chemical composition. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements ''py ...

in physical technology and in the separation of solid waste materials. His expertise brought him into contact with the Van Gansewinkel waste management company, which he advised for years. He was one of the first researchers in The Netherlands working on waste management; for this reason he was jokingly called "the garbage professor". Aside from his research, Tels had a reputation for being a good teacher and employing (often self-deprecating) humor in order to engage his students. He was appointed vice dean of the department in 1977 and became dean in 1982. Tels was appointed

of the university in 1988. In his period as rector he focused on strengthening ties with the city of Eindhoven and with local industry. He was asked to resign as rector by the university council in 1991, following the Buck-Goudsmit scandal. Although he was finally not forced out, he resigned as rector to prevent an administrative crisis at the university. Upon his resignation he was awarded the Honors Medal of the university by the TU/e, which he received from his successor as rector Professor Van Lint. The year after his retirement from the university he was made a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion, after being nominated jointly by the Minister of Education for his work as a professor and by the

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

for his work in environmental technology. Professor Tels continued advising the Van Gansewinkel Group until 1996, through Swiwah B.V., a one-man company he founded (''swiwah'' is

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

for "environment"). He died on 2 January 2008, after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

Honors

During his career, professor Tels received the following honors: * Lenin medal of the University of Sofia (1983?) * Honors Medal of the Eindhoven University of Technology (1991) * Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion (1992)

References

External links

De volle olijfgaard van Akademeia
- farewell lecture, held 11 October 1991 at the Eindhoven University of Technology
Op Weg
- lecture at the opening of the TU/e academic year 1989–1990
Paris aan de Dommel
- lecture at the opening of the TU/e academic year 1990–1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tels, Martinus 1926 births 2008 deaths Delft University of Technology alumni 20th-century Dutch chemists Dutch Jews 20th-century Dutch physicists Dutch Zionists Academic staff of the Eindhoven University of Technology Westerbork transit camp survivors Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Engineers from Rotterdam Rectores Magnifici of the Eindhoven University of Technology Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors