History

1953

Marina van Damme graduates from Delft University of Technology as chemical engineer.

1965

Marina van Damme is the first engineer to receive her doctorate from the University of Twente.

1978

Marina van Damme becomes manager Central Staff of Akzo N.V.

1988

Member of the Scientific Council for Government Policy. Advisor for Strategic Chemical Development to the Board of Akzo N.V. Receives the title "Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau"

2003

The first Marina van Damme grant is handed out at the University of Twente.

2009

Marina van Damme receives the Institute Medal of Honor from the Royal Institute of Engineers (KIVI)

2013

Marina van Damme receives a Medal of Honor from the Delft University of Applied Sciences Fund

2017

Marina van Damme receives a Medal of Honor from the University of Twente and becomes an honorary member of KIVI.

2020

Naming of the Marina van Damme Orchard by the Executive Board of the University of Twente. In addition, she becomes an Honorary Member of Old - DVSV.

2023

20 years Marina van Damme grant - a symposium is organized in honour of the female engineer.

Marina van Damme was born in 1930 in the Netherlands and graduated from Delft University of Technology in 1953 as a chemical engineer. After five instructive years at TNO’s Central Laboratory in Delft, she began her impressive career at Royal Dutch Salt Industry, KNZ (later merged into Akzo N.V.). First as a research associate, later as head of the laboratory and as deputy director of KNZ. During that period she was also the first engineer to receive a doctorate in Engineering from the University of Twente.

Around age 40, Van Damme decided it was time for something completely different. She wanted to study toward business development. It was a leap of faith, but she climbed the career ladder quickly and in 1978 she became director Central Staff at Akzo N.V. She advised the Board of Management on strategic and operational plans and on investment projects and acquisitions. She served on the Advisory Board of TNO and ABN AMRO, was active in the entrepreneurial organization VNO and a member of study groups in Brussels and at the Ministry of Economic Affairs on engineering policy. In 1988 she was asked to join the Scientific Council for Government Policy, and diminished her activities at Akzo N.V. to Advisor of the Board of Directors on Chemical Strategic Development.

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When I started studying in 1947, only 1 in 100 students at Delft University of Technology was a woman.

- Marina van Damme -

Van Damme has had an amazing career, which she wishes upon other women as well. In 2003, she therefore established the annual Marina van Damme grant at the university of Twente and Delft University of Technology, and later she added Eindhoven University of Technology and Wageningen University and Research. The scholarship is intended to provide female engineers and PhDs who have several years of work experience and want to develop further. In this way, they increase their chances of having an interesting career. The scholarship also creates a network of women who can exchange their experiences and help each other further.

Throughout her career, Marina van Damme has always sought equal opportunities for women and men in business and science. As a member of the Scientific Council for Government Policy and by holding various other advisory positions, she has made her contributions. Her commitment and contribution have been invaluable to the development of women in engineering and business in the Netherlands.

As a gift for her 90th birthday and in honor of her contributions to female alumni of TUs, the university of Twente named an orchard after Marina van Damme. Since 2023 this orchard is named “Orchard in honor of female engineers“.

Last update: February 2024