During the presentation of the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs, Jan Klok won the audience award. That was announced during the annual Day of the Engineer, organized by KIVI, the Royal Institute of Engineers.
The University of Groningen was this year’s host of the Day of the Engineer. Princess Mabel and Princess Beatrix were in attendance during the awards ceremony on Tuesday. Jan Klok (34) works as a process engineer at Paqell, a project manager at Wetsus, European Center for Sustainable Water Technology, in Leeuwarden, and a guest researcher at Wageningen University.
KIVI’s criteria for the Engineer of the Year is “anyone who wants to have social impact as an engineer should not be afraid to look beyond the boundaries of their own discipline” and assesses the nominee’s expertise, capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship. Jan Klok was one of the three nominees, and though he did not win the title itself, he won the audience prize which is based on a popular vote.
Klok’s research focuses on how to remove sulfur compounds from natural gas. His research led to a new, sustainable purification method that is now being marketed. Conventional methods to remove hydrogen sulfide from gas are not sustainable. Klok’s research improved the original purification method developed by water company Paquell and Wageningen. He uses bacteria, which is more efficient.
Klok is also serves as a project manager at Wetsus in Leeuwarden where he supervises PhD candidates and conducts research in his field.
