Dr S van der Wal (b. 1948) has been appointed professor by special appointment (bijzonder hoogleraar) of Bioterials Analysis at the Faculty of Science of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA). The chair has been endowed by Stichting Bèta Plus (Science Foundation).

Sjoerd van der Wal will be doing research within the group Polymer Analysis of the Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences on the analysis of polymeric biomedical materials. The use of complex (multidimensional) separation methods will have an important place in the analytical research.

Bioterials are materials used for biomedical applications; these applications add greatly to an increase in the quality of life and are gaining importance because of the ageing population. Areas of application are implants, catheters, tissue engineering and systems for controlled delivery of drugs. Biomaterials are usually composed of synthetic or chemically modified yet natural polymers; they are often meant for temporary use and frequently are biodegradable. Knowledge of the composition and degradation of biomaterials is essential for their application.

Van der Wal has been working at DSM in Geleen since 1986, first as group leader HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) and then as research fellow Chromatography at DSM Research. He has been principal scientist Chromatography at DSM Resolve since 2003 and will be combining his professorship at the UvA with this job.