Institutional development · Academic workforce and careers · Netherlands
Maastricht University appoints Judith van de Mortel to endowed chair in plant–soil systems
Judith van de Mortel, who researches how crops and soil microbes interact, now holds an endowed chair at Maastricht University while also teaching at HAS green academy in Venlo.
Why it matters: Maastricht University and HAS green academy in Venlo now share one academic whose university professorship is combined with her chair at the academy.
Maastricht University reported that Judith van de Mortel recently took up an endowed professorship titled 'Transformative Plant–Soil Interaction Systems for Sustainable Food Production', focusing on how farm crops interact with soil microbes.
The university said she will contribute her knowledge of soil microbes, crop resilience and sustainable agriculture to the Brightlands Future Farming Institute, located at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo.
She also lectures at HAS green academy in Venlo, where she holds a chair called 'Levende bodem werkt!' ('The living soil works!'), which the university says fits closely with her new professorship.
According to the university, the appointment advances cooperation between the two institutions and broadens Maastricht University's presence in Venlo.
Editor’s view
Sarah Williamson, Teaching, Digital and AI Editor
For Maastricht University and HAS green academy, the appointment places one academic in linked chairs at both institutions, which the university presents as a further step in their joint work in Venlo.
.jpg){kind=link}