Robbert Dijkgraaf

Robbert Dijkgraaf is President-elect of the International Science Council (ISC) and University Professor of Science and Society from an International Perspective at the University of Amsterdam. He will succeed Sir Peter Gluckman as ISC President in October 2026. A mathematical physicist, he has held leadership roles spanning research, science policy, and government.

Dijkgraaf served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands from 2022 to 2024. From 2012 to 2022, he was Director and Leon Levy Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He previously served as President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2008–2012) and co-chair of the InterAcademy Council.

Dijkgraaf's research focuses on the interface between theoretical physics and mathematics, particularly string theory, topological field theories, and black holes. He received the Spinoza Prize, the highest scientific award in the Netherlands, in 2003. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2012 and elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2025.

He obtained his PhD cum laude from Utrecht University under the supervision of Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft.