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Ebook: Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom. Essays in Commemoration of Prof. Dr. René Wagenaar
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This book commemorates Prof. Dr. René Wagenaar and illustrates the impact he had on research and discussions on research topics. It is divided into four parts, each part relating to a specific area of Prof. Wagenaar’s career and also more or less reflecting the work he did at the three universities that played a role in his career, i.e. Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Free University of Amsterdam and Delft University of Technology. The first part of the book describes how Prof. Wagenaar started working on EDI and inter-organizational systems at Erasmus University. At the Free University, his research coincided with the Internet growth and hype, and he became focused on e-Commerce and the role of Virtual Merchant, as discussed in part two. In 2001, he assumed his position at Delft, and refocused his research on e-Government, and on infrastructure and service-related projects. At Delft, socio-technological designs have a prominent position in both education and research. His involvement in and impact on research and education starting from a socio-technical approach are discussed in contributions in part three. In part four, some contributions are bundled that address a number of issues in which Prof. Wagenaar was interested and left his marks on, like mobile technologies, business models, privacy issues and standardization.
When interesting people retire or celebrate an important milestone, it is a good habit to construct a ‘liber amicorum’ in which colleagues, business relations, science-relations and plain friends picture the person in question with his or her positive and negative sides.
Our friend René Wagenaar did not get the chance to reach a jubilee or his super-annuation; an awful disease pulled him away. So now his friends and relations build a modest monument for him. The man René as he was in other people's eyes: a contradiction in itself.
From a distance modest, almost shy, always seemingly lightly confused, slightly disorganised, not a good timekeeper. Certainly not pushing himself to the foreground, keeping his knowledge to himself even when he knew better than what was laid out. As a colleague at KPN Research he was one of the least outspoken professors there, but always participating, always contributing and listening very well.
But when you came closer to him, got to know him better, he was lively; he could be harsh and direct in his approach, someone who lived life intensely, a strong family man who, besides that, took a great interest in other people. And more important for our TU Delft: a man with the basic curiosity to drive research forward, to motivate colleagues and students and make the space available in which they could excel, like a father.
I hope and trust that this book will show its readers that the progress of science – albeit that we remember the icons better – has much more to thank to relatively ordinary people like René, provided they have the motivation and drive he had.
Wim Dik