Winnaars SURF Research Support Awards 2022

Serkan Girgin

Serkan Girgin, associate professor and head of the Center of Expertise in Big Geodata Science, University of Twente

"Without his support, I would not have been able to conduct my research."

Serkan was nominated by several people: colleagues at the University of Twente, but also researchers abroad. He clearly has a broad network. Serkan built a data analysis platform that provides easy access to many open-source geographical analysis tools. The nominations show that Serkan really makes an impact in his field. He is very active in promoting open and reproducible research in the wider scientific community, and also looks beyond national borders.

Read more about how Serkan expands horizons in Earth Observation in this interview.

Sarah Coombs

Sarah Coombs, adviser Research Support at Saxion

“She has put research support on the map, both within Saxion and nationally.”

Sarah's strength is that she understands the work of the researcher. She not only supports researchers at her own institution, but is also very active nationally and internationally. She is a true expert and has played an important role in the professionalisation of data stewardship. Among other things, Sarah has ensured that 20 universities of applied sciences have joined forces in a Digital Competence Center (DCC) to work together on research support at a national level. 

Michèle Huijberts

Michèle Huijberts, information architect at the radiology department of UMC Leiden

Michèle goes above and beyond to support all the digital needs in our group.”

Michèle developed an infrastructure that automatically anonymises and stores images from MRI scanners. This required connections between the hospital's storage system, the hardware of the MRI scanner, the system for electronic patient information and a server for anonymising imaging to comply with privacy regulations. This will make it possible to scan patients in less than 10 minutes instead of the current 30-60 minutes. With huge implications for patient comfort, but also for the logistical flow and finances of the hospital. The data infrastructure also makes it possible to collaborate with other institutes.

 

Read the full Jury report here: JURY REPORT SURF Research Support Champions 2022

Also read the SURF Magazine article: Research support continues to be necessary for scientific research