Dutch wind energy expert Jos Beurskens was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Oldenburg today, 16 November 2009, by the School V - School of Mathematics and Science. Beurskens is thus honoured for his outstanding achievements and his great commitment to wind energy research. In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr Martin Kühn, holder of the Endowed Chair of Wind Energy at the University of Stuttgart, emphasised that Beurskens had played a decisive role in shaping and influencing European wind energy research, both as a scientist and as a manager. He had not only provided groundbreaking food for thought in theory, but also for economic realisation and had been a strong advocate of university education in the field of renewable energy and wind energy.

Beurskens is Director of the Dutch offshore programme WE@SEA, which carries out research and development work for offshore wind turbines. He also works as a senior researcher and project leader at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). Since 2003, he has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of ForWind, the centre for wind energy research at the universities of Oldenburg, Hanover and Bremen; he has been Chair of the Advisory Board since 2006. In 2008, the scientist was awarded the "Poul la Cour Prize", the most important prize in the field of wind energy, by the European Commissioner for Science and Research.

Beurskens studied electrical engineering and physics at the TU Eindhoven. From 1972 to 1981, he worked in wind energy research there and was involved in development co-operation. He then worked as manager of the Dutch national wind energy programme. Since 1981, he has held various positions at the ECN in the fields of wind energy research and renewable energy, where he headed the Renewable Energy and Wind Energy Department for almost 20 years. Despite his responsibility for his own Institute, he was repeatedly the catalyst for cross-institute and cross-national co-operations.
He is a co-founder of a large number of national and international networks in the field of wind energy. For example, he co-initiated the European research and training networks European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency (EUREC) and the European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE). As part of these activities, Beurskens has been committed to interdisciplinary and cross-location university education. The EAWE is particularly important for wind energy research at the University of Oldenburg. In addition to organising doctoral training and the exchange of scientists, it organises applications for major research projects, such as the current research in the German offshore test field as part of the BMU's "Research at Alpha Ventus (RAVE)" programme. Thanks to its membership of the EAWE, which is supported by Beurskens, the University of Oldenburg is prominently represented in several projects in this largest German offshore research project. According to Prof Dr Georg Klump, Dean of School V, Beurskens has made a significant contribution to the international visibility of wind energy research at the University of Oldenburg and has shown great personal commitment to the German-Dutch relationship.