Royal honor for Erik-Jan Bos

For life-long services to the Dutch and international network communities, Erik-Jan Bos, longtime employee of SURF and NORDUnet, receives one of the most distinguished orders in The Netherlands.

The Chancery of the Netherlands Orders has awarded Erik-Jan Bos, Technical Policy Officer at NORDUnet, with the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Since 1892, the order has been “conferred on individuals who have made a contribution of outstanding value to the community”. The chancery further notes that “The Order is also awarded to people for outstanding achievements in their work, surpassing those of others in their field and exceeding what would normally be expected of someone in their particular job.”

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this royal distinction. It recognizes not only a personal commitment to advancing the field of R&E networking on a global scale, visible in efforts such as GNA-G and the GREN, but also the meaningful collaborations and teams I was part of that have shaped my professional journey. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to these efforts and for this esteemed recognition,” says Erik-Jan Bos.

Joined SURF during the pioneering days

Erik-Jan began his career in early 1989 as Network Manager at SURF, the National Research and Education Network (NREN) of The Netherlands. These were pioneering days not only for SURF, but for many NRENs. Carrying different titles along the way, Erik-Jan continuously played a leading role in establishing and maturing research and education networks over more than two decades.

Highlights included the start of the internet hub Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), the first European Internet backbone Ebone, the first optical national research and education network with 10 Gbps (Giga-bit-per-second) capacity, and the dedicated global network for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (the LHCOPN).

After 23 years at SURF, Erik-Jan began working for NORDUnet in 2011. At both SURF and NORDUnet, Erik-Jan has demonstrated a passion for advancing R&E networks and been a driving force in realizing a global infrastructure, reaching far beyond the networks and services of any one organization. His leadership has time and again helped foster the international collaborations essential in advancing the state of the art.

A driving force in international collaborations

Over the years, dramatic changes have happened in the global R&E landscape. This period has seen the emergence of initiatives and concepts such as Global Exchange Points (GXP) for research networks, the Global Research and Education Network vision (GREN), and the Global Network Architecture (GNA). The same is true for the Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) consortium, in which R&E networks from both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean created the world’s first 100 Gbps connection, and the coordination among leadership of global NRENs. Erik-Jan has contributed as a driving force to all these initiatives and to many others.

Most recently, Erik-Jan has been a lead contributor to Vision 2030, the vision behind the Polar Connect initiative, as well as the series of EU co-funded projects realizing this vision.

Voluntary work is part of the motivation

While SURF and NORDUnet have been his main employers, Erik-Jan has also served in roles as consultant at the ACE (America Connecting to Europe) project, as senior strategy advisor at the US NREN Internet2, and as lecturer at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.

Besides his outstanding professional achievements, the motivation from the Chancery of the Netherlands Orders mentions his engagement in voluntary work in the Nijkerk community, the town where he lives.

Last but certainly not least, the motivation also emphasizes his agreeable and modest personality.

Royal honour for Walter Lioen, SURF

Walter Lioen, Domain Manager Research Services at SURF, received the royal honour Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Walter has worked in the field of High Performance Computing, supporting scientific researchers in the Netherlands, since 1983. He also plays advisory and strategic roles in various national and international partnerships. Walter has helped shape the Dutch landscape for supercomputing, which is among the most accessible and best in the world. Thanks in part to his efforts, research groups are able to conduct world-class computational research on topics such as how the COVID virus functions or how blood clots form in the body. Researchers can knock on Walter’s door at any time; he patiently explains things and makes the impossible somewhat possible.