Laudatio uitgesproken door Jan Danckaert
As a physicist it is a privilege for me to present Robbert Dijkgraaf. Not only is Robbert Dijkgraaf an eminent scientist, he made important contributions to quantum field theory, to topological field theory, to string theory. You know, all these fields of physics which, connect the world of elementary particles - so the world of the very small - with the cosmological scales - with the world of the very very large. [F]or this contribution he received the Spinoza Prize in the Netherlands, which is the highest scientific distinction in the Netherlands.
I would place Robbert Dijkgraaf in the tradition of the French Encyclopédistes, like Diderot, d'Alembert, Condorcet, who were really interested in all aspects of science - and not only science. [T]o illustrate that: while Robbert was studying Physics in the Netherlands, he lacked a bit of challenge and so he stopped his studies and switched to study Arts in the famous, also very famous Rietveld Academy in the Netherlands. [L]uckily for us he returned to Physics afterwards and is now occupying the office which was once occupied by Albert Einstein in the Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies.
But here, we want to honour Robbert Dijkgraaf for his endless efforts in order to convey the importance and the beauty of science to the general public - and not only to the general public of course; also to our policymakers. He regularly appears in television shows in the Netherlands (De Wereld Draait Door). He writes columns in newspapers (NRC Handelsblad for example, in Dutch). He also writes columns in English, across the ocean one of the latest columns he wrote bears the very beautiful title There Are No Laws of Physics. There's Only the Landscape.
And recently, in order to underline the importance of blue sky research, of serendipity, of the unplanned discovery, he re-edited a book from the 1930s under the title The Usefulness of Useless Research - because if you have to plan five years ahead what you are going to discover, [...] we only get more of the same. In order to illustrate with examples from my own field: we did not invent the electric light bulb by doing research on improving the candle, nor did we invent the laser by doing research on improving the electric light bulb. Robbert's latest book bears the title of a mathematical symbol - in Dutch "het isgelijkteken".
Robbert, je bent een groot wetenschapper, maar je bent ook een heel groot pleitbezorger voor de wetenschap. [D]aarom zijn we heel vereerd om jou dit eredoctoraat te mogen overhandigen.