Because we don't have sufficient money, twenty scientist will be fired at EWI. My bosses comfort me by telling that EWI is just the start, another hundred will be fired in other departments in the next years. They also tell me the best thing to do is to fire most of those scientists in the research groups of top MESA+ scientists like Miko Elwenspoek and Albert van den Berg. I'm happy to believe that, since I'm not an expert in governmental matters.
In the wake of the scientist, engineers will be fired as well. Now I become an expert, since I have seen these wizards working for the last 23 years. They build and maintain delicate Nanolab equipment on which my PhD students run their experiments. Over decades they have acquired unique technical skills. They carry the body of technical know-how in my group. Remove the technicians, and you might as well switch off the equipment. Nanolab will become a vibration isolated museum.
At the same time my bosses hire an employee whose job it is to remove my bike if I do not park it neatly in the bike stand. So I miss my train to Schiphol. This individual will not be fired. It is as if my bosses care more about the outside of the building than the people working within. I cannot believe that…
Leon Abelmann
Associate professor Transducer Science & Technology Group
