Gijs Kuenen

Who is Gijs Kuenen?

Johannes Gijsbrecht Kuenen is a Dutch microbiologist who is professor emeritus at the Delft University of Technology and a visiting scientist at the University of Southern California. His research is influenced by, and a contribution to, the scientific tradition of the Delft School of Microbiology.

Kuenen studied at the University of Groningen, where he received both his Doctorandus degree and in 1972 his Doctorate under the supervision of Professor Dr. Hans Veldkamp. The title of his thesis was ‘‘Colourless sulphur bacteria from Dutch tidal mudflats’’. After a short post-doc at the University of California in Los Angeles, he returned as a senior lecturer to Groningen. In 1980, he moved to Delft to become the 4th Professor of Microbiology at Delft University of Technology. Kuenen's initial research interests were bacteria involved in the natural sulfur cycle and yeast physiology and metabolism. His later interest in the physiology of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria has led a.o. to the discovery of the bacteria within the phylum planctomycetes that perform the Anammox process. In addition, his research has been focussed on alkaliphilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from soda lakes. Gijs Kuenen retired in 2005 but remains active in science.