Erling Stenby took up the position of head of DTU Chemistry on 1 May. DTU Avisen went to see him for a chat about his new job, basic research, well-being and food.
Monday 3 May was a really good day for Erling Stenby to take up his new job as head of DTU Chemistry. On that day, DTU Chemistry was basking in the limelight following the publication in Science of the research findings of a group of scientists from DTU Chemistry in collaboration with Haldor Topsøe A/S. „I couldn’t have had a better start, and I felt extremely proud of the department,“ says the newly appointed Head of Department.
Balanced research
As head of DTU Chemistry, Erling Stenby has no ready-made five-year plan for the department, and even if he had one in his pocket, „then the department’s employees wouldn’t be reading about it in DTU Avisen,“ he says with a smile. Basically, he would like to strike a balance between applied research and basic research, acknowledging the fact that we need both. „I see it as an exciting challenge because in society there is a huge demand for applied research, and fame awaits us if we succeed in resolving some of the difficult problems. However, the trouble with this is that the solutions are often short-sighted. The shortterm solutions are necessary but they rarely lead to major breakthroughs. The breakthroughs are produced by basic research, which I believe is something which we cannot do without. I see great scope at DTU Chemistry for covering both types of research,“ says Erling Stenby.
Action plan for greater well-being
One of the first tasks awaiting the new head of DTU Chemistry is preparing – together with the department’s employees – an action plan which the Danish Working Environment Authority has requested following last year’s screening which identified a number of problems at the department. Despite the disappointing background, Erling Stenby welcomes the task: „I see it as an excellent opportunity to get to know the department and to identify the problems that need addressing. Putting some effort into improving the well-being of our employees can never be a bad thing.“
Turbot, chocolate and running
Erling Stenby is not averse to delegating more of his tasks to competent employees at the department. „It may prove necessary to reorganise some of the administrative tasks as the department has neither a deputy nor an administrative head, like most other departments. But that will be decided once I have settled a bit further into my job here,“ says Erling Stenby. However, there is one job which Erling Stenby never wants to delegate: Cooking at home because gastronomy is his passion. He loves French cuisine, calls turbot one of his favourite foods and likes to end a nice meal with a rich chocolate pudding served with fruit. And as for all the calories, he burns them off on his two-to-three weekly six-kilometre runs with his wife.
CV
1982 Graduate engineer in chemistry, DTU
1986 P hD from Department of Physics and Chemistry, DTU
1987-91 Assistant Professor at the same department
1991-96 Associate Professor at the same department
1994-2009 Head of Center for Phase Equilibria and Separation Processes at DTU Chemical Engineering
2009-now Head of Center for Energy Resource Engineering (CERE)