Martinus Veltman

Professor Dr. Martinus Veltman (1931-2021) received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1999. May visitors to this passage be inspired by his life motto:

'There is nothing more exciting than discovering how nature works'
 

Prof. Dr. Martinus Veltman, call sign Tini, was born in Waalwijk in 1931. Here he grew up in Baardwijk (Waalwijk-east) and attended the HBS. During his studies in Utrecht, he taught briefly at the Dr. Mollercollege in Waalwijk. Veltman subsequently worked at international institutions during his academic career. After his doctorate, he served as a professor at the University of Utrecht and the University of Michigan (USA), among others. For the pioneering research he conducted with his student Gerard 't Hooft, they both received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1999. Veltman died at the age of 89 in Bilthoven in 2021.

Youth

Martinus Veltman was born in Waalwijk as the fourth child in the Veltman-Vissers family and was given the nickname Tini at home. His father was Headmaster of the St. Clemens School in Baardwijk (Waalwijk-east). Veltman attended the HBS in Waalwijk in the Mr. Van Coothstraat. Here he was known as a mediocre student. However, he did have a special talent for mathematics and physics. In his spare time he was very busy with electronics and repairing radios for his neighbors. He passed his final exams in 1948. At the intercession of physics teacher A. Beunes, Veltman went to study at the University of Utrecht.

Study, tutoring and promotion

In the 1954-'55 school year, Tini teaches physics at the new Dr. Moller College on Burg. Moonenlaan, the successor of the HBS in the Van Coothstraat. He does this as extra income to pay for his studies. In Utrecht, he starts his doctoral research with Professor Van Hove at the age of 27. With his supervisor, Veltman will leave for CERN in Geneva in 1960. Within this leading European institute, he works intensively on various research projects in theoretical physics.

In 1963, Veltman received his doctorate with the compliments of his supervisor. This was followed by work in the United States and elsewhere. Here he develops the computer program "Clean Ship," which plays a major role in the development of his later works. The name of the algorithmic program was deliberately chosen by Veltman, not averse to a joke. He enjoys providing his foreign colleagues with a genuine Dutch-language tongue twister.

Professor of Utrecht and Michigan

In 1966 he was appointed professor of theoretical physics in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Here he becomes the supervisor of Gerard 't Hooft, among others. The pioneering research carried out by both of them in the field of theoretical physics will be the reason for their later Nobel Prize. This work will be presented to colleagues for the first time in 1971 as the Theory of Weak Interaction.

In 1980 he left Utrecht for an appointment at the American University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He is known as a scholar of great intelligence, unbridled dedication, an inspired lecturing style and a critical attitude toward colleagues and students. Veltman rarely minces words.

Emeritus and Nobel Prize

After his retirement (1997), Veltman returned to the Netherlands. He lives with his wife Anneke in Bilthoven and remains active in scientific circles. In 1999 he (finally) receives the Nobel Prize together with his former pupil, during which time he regularly returns to Waalwijk for family visits. The Dr. Moller College also eagerly embraces its lauded student, and an asteroid is named after him. Veltman dies at home in Bilthoven in the presence of his family in 2021, at the age of 89.

Tini Veltman, a genial, combative, headstrong and burgundian man. It is these qualities, which make the Nobel Prize winner par excellence a monumental Waalwijker.

In 2023, the highly readable biography on Veltman, written by Dirk van Delft, was published with the title:
Verrek dat 't! The combative life of Nobel laureate Martinus Veltman