Johan Molenbroek: ‘My preference would be to simply continue’

He does not miss the irony of his situation. He taught design for ergonomic aids for 40 years and his wife was a doctor. At the moment he is working from home as his wife has had a brain haemorrhage. Luckily the aids and services that they had arranged means that they can cope together. “But my preference would be to simply continue.”

“My wife studied medicine. I did the Technical University of Applied Sciences in Enschede and then thought that if I would start working I would become a department head somewhere and the subjects of discussion would be different. The Technical University of Applied Sciences in Twente started a bachelor in BioMedical Engineering. We had lessons at different faculties, as well as at TNO and the Universities of Groningen and Munster where we also attended operations. I graduated in prostheses design. This gave me more subjects for discussion with my wife who was then studying to become a doctor.”

‘A couple of years in another part of the Netherlands would be doable’

Molenbroek chose ergonomics, the science that – as the journalist Jan Blokker says – ensures that ‘you do not bang your head in a caravan’. On 1 December 1978 he joined TU Delft as a scientific staff member at the Industrial Design department. “I thought that a couple of years in another part of the Netherlands would be doable.” He reached emeritus retirement in 2016.

He had to hand his room on to his successor, Toon Huysmans, but could leave his bookcase as Huismans saved everything on his laptop. In the first few years Molenbroek was paid to work one day a week and he supervised graduates and PhD candidates. He also continued publishing. “I have written more than 200 publications, of which I’m proud. The first one, in 1980, is only available in a paper version. I have promised myself to scan it so that others can find it.”

Involved in research projects abroad

He is involved in research projects abroad. Such as the research by the Chilean Héctor Ignacio Castellucci at the University of Valparaiso. “After studying at TU Delft and doing a doctoral dissertation defence in Portugal where I was his external examiner, he returned to Chile and started a series of measurement projects. He quickly became a professor. Since then we have done projects about the human dimension in labour conditions and product safety.”

Measuring the human body

Molenbroek also had a company for a long time, working as a consultant on anthropometry (measuring the human body) and ergonomics. In doing so, he used a ‘beperkingenpak’ or ‘limitation suit’. “I designed the suit with a student. You can use it to let people experience, within 15 minutes, what it is like to have a physical limitation. I spent years visiting management companies and municipalities with it. But when my wife had a brain haemorrhage, I did not have the time to do this anymore. I became a full time carer. I donated the suit to my research group so that the students could use it.”

Given his care duties, Molenbroek only does the work that he can do from home. But he still has a lot of goals. He wants to either write a book about anthropometry or write a thriller. And he is socially engaged. “Low levels of literacy is a serious issue in today’s society. The target group has difficulty reading and prefers to watch explanations in videos. But these do not always say the same things as texts. I am working on this as the chair of the Delfgauw residents association.”