For life-long services to the Dutch and international network communities, Erik-Jan Bos, longtime employee of SURF and NORDUnet, has been appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, one of the highest civilian honours in The Netherlands 🇳🇱 🎖️
The Chancery of the Netherlands Orders has awarded Erik-Jan Bos, Technical Policy Officer at NORDUnet, the title of Officer in 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.”
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 opening 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 network for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
A driving force in international collaborations
After 23 years at SURF, Erik-Jan joined NORDUnet in 2011. At both SURF and NORDUnet, Erik-Jan has demonstrated a passion for R&E networks and been a driving force in realising a global infrastructure, reaching far beyond the networks and services of any one organisation. His leadership has time and again helped foster the international collaborations essential in advancing the state of the art.
Over the years dramatic changes would happen in the global R&E landscape. This period has seen the emergence of initiatives and concepts such
Most recently, Erik-Jan has contributed to the evolution of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), coordinating community contributions, and has been a lead contributor to Vision 2030, the vision behind the Polar Connect initiative, as well the series of EU-funded projects realising the 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 Hogeschool Windesheim, 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.
