Nobel Prize winner Andre Geim must hand in his Dutch passport, according newspaper de Volkskrant. He lost his right to Dutch citizenship after acquiring British nationality twelve years ago.
Andre Geim, who was born in Russia, worked for many years at Radboud University and was celebrated in 2010 as the Dutch Nobel laureate. Speaking to de Volkskrant, Geim says he considers himself a “Dutch-British Nobel Prize winner, in that order.”
Surrendering passport
A few months ago, he received an email from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs informing him that he must hand in his passport at the Dutch embassy in London. Appeals to the ministry and the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) were to no avail, Geim says. In general, Dutch law states that adults who voluntarily acquire another nationality automatically lose their Dutch citizenship.
Geim says he took British nationality because it was a requirement for receiving a knighthood. However, had he known this would mean forfeiting his Dutch passport, he “would probably have turned down the honour”, he now says.
Ultra-thin carbon
Together with Konstantin Novoselov, Geim demonstrated in 2004 that extremely thin layers of carbon can still conduct electricity and heat very effectively. For this discovery, the researchers – who were colleagues in Nijmegen – were awarded the Nobel Prize as well as royal honours. Geim is a Commander in the Order of the Dutch Lion. “And yet I’ve been kicked out of the country like a worthless object,” he tells de Volkskrant (HOP, OL)
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