It is with great sadness that we share the death of Dr Freek Ariese, associate professor at VU University Amsterdam, deputy director of LaserLaB Amsterdam and key figure within Laserlab-Europe. Freek passed away unexpectedly on his way back from his beloved Hungary. We will miss him dearly. Freek's passion for science and education always went hand in hand with a genuine concern for people around him.
Freek began his academic career by studying chemistry at the University of Amsterdam and in 1993 obtained his PhD from Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam on research into fluorescence spectroscopy under cryogenic conditions, known as Shpol'skii spectroscopy. Following this, he conducted postdoctoral research for three years at Iowa State University in the United States, where he used laser spectroscopy to study how carcinogenic molecules bind to DNA.
After returning to the Netherlands, Freek initially chose a management position at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM-VU), where he led international projects aimed at improving analytical methods for environmental monitoring. In 1999, he returned to the academy as an associate professor within the Biomolecular Analysis & Spectroscopy section of the Department of Chemistry.
Since January 2012, Freek joined the Biophotonics & Medical Imaging section of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, as associate professor. His research focused on molecular spectroscopy and imaging, with applications in biomedical imaging, environmental analysis, cultural heritage and space research. He made significant contributions to the development of innovative Raman and fluorescence techniques, including deep-UV Raman, time-resolved Raman and 3D Raman tomography.
Freek's scientific legacy includes nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications.
Freek was an exceptionally committed and dedicated lecturer, for whom teaching and mentoring were never an afterthought. He taught at bachelor, master and PhD level and coordinated the Biomedical Imaging minor with great care and enthusiasm. He was intensively involved in setting up and providing courses, supervised numerous PhD, master and bachelor students and played a connecting role within COAST.
As a mentor, Freek was at his best. He took ample time for his students and PhD students and guided them with sincere attention in their development as scientists and as human beings. To him, the road to it often counted more than the end result. Students remember him as a warm, patient and inspired supervisor, who made complex matters accessible and always knew how to give them confidence, precisely at those moments when they needed it most.
Since October 2018, he also held the position of deputy director of LaserLaB Amsterdam, where he was responsible for financial management and representation within European networks. Within Laserlab-Europe, he held the position of president of the General Assembly and was a member of the Management Board, where he helped shape policy at strategic and executive level.
Besides his impressive professional career, Freek was above all a warm, committed and very collegial personality. With his genuine interest, friendly presence and quiet humour, he knew how to connect people. He was loved within the academic community and far beyond. His absence leaves a great loss, as a colleague, mentor and human being.
More about his work: Google Scholar, ResearchGate
More about his career by Juan Rojo, Head of the Physics and Astronomy department at VU Amsterdam (LinkedIn).