A new chapter for prof. dr. Tina Comes - an outlook to the near future of Resilience Engineering

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From 1 November 2025, Prof. Dr. Tina Comes will assume the role of Director of the Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Since 2020, Tina has been a driving force behind the 4TU.RE centre, shaping the multidisciplinary Resilience Engineering community and fostering collaborations building on the foundations of the HTSF 4TU.DeSIRE research and capacity programme.

A legacy of growth and impact

Under Tina’s leadership, the centre’s influence has expanded significantly. The International Conference on Resilient Systems (ICRS), hosted in Mexico (2023) and Singapore (2024), has attracted increasing participation from researchers and practitioners worldwide. The 2026 edition, set for Delft, promises to continue this trend.

In addition, the commitment of the 4TU.RE Advisory Board members has remained and includes leaders from organizations like the Dutch Water Authorities, engineering consultancy firms and IBM, reflecting the field’s interdisciplinary growth. Young researchers have also flourished, securing funding and recognition in their academic careers.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Tina for her pivotal role in advancing the Resilience Engineering community. We are delighted that she will remain involved in organizing ICRS 2026 in Delft, ensuring continuity for the centre’s flagship event.

New leadership for 4TU.RE

As of 1 November 2025, Prof. Dr. Ir. Joanne Vinke-de Kruijf (University of Twente) and Dr. George van Voorn (Wageningen University & Research) will serve as interim scientific directors of the 4TU.RE centre while the formal appointment procedure is underway.

Joanne Vinke-de Kruijf, adjunct professor of Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Systems at the University of Twente, is also an affiliate associate professor at Auburn University, USA.

George van Voorn, associate professor at WUR, specializes in developing and applying modelling methodologies.

Commitment to the Resilience Engineering mission

Joanne and George will build on 4TU.RE’s strong foundation, advancing the centre’s mission: contributing to a resilient society through collaboration with policymakers, industry, and academia.

Resilience engineering focuses on the ability of socio-technical-environmental systems to sustain, improve, and innovate their key functions – by absorbing, reacting to, recovering from, adapting to, or reorganizing in response to chronic stresses, abrupt shocks, and disruptions.

Our ambition is to become an international leading knowledge centre in Resilience Engineering and to create and facilitate a Resilience Engineering movement. In order to accomplish this ambition we want to create awareness around resilience and make resilience an important basic principle for system design and an essential starting point for the governance of these systems.

An outlook to the near future

We are pleased to welcome Nazli Aydin (TU Delft) and Carissa Champlin (University of Twente) as new members of the Scientific Steering Group (SSG). We also extend our gratitude to Andy Nelson, who is leaving the SSG, for his valuable contributions.

With the addition of these new members, we are embracing a shift towards greater external engagement, bridging disciplines and driving societal impact. Looking ahead, the 4TU.Federation’s commitment to resilience engineering will further strengthen this momentum.

Over the next four years (2026–2030), the centre will have a dedicated budget to deepen its academic and societal impact. This investment will enable us to expand our external engagement, bridge disciplines and drive innovation at local, national and global levels.

Picture credit: Esther Gorlee at Unsplash.