IJJ Aalbersberg to step down as STM committee chair

Following more than a decade of leadership within STM, most recently as chair of the Standards and Technology Committee (STeC), IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg will step down from the position, in connection with his departure from Elsevier. 

IJsbrand Jan has been one of the driving forces behind STM’s work on standards and technology, and STM would like to acknowledge his leadership, dedication, and many contributions. During his tenure as chair, he was closely involved with the birth of several highly successful STM initiatives, including Research Data sharing solutions and guidelines, the Article Sharing Framework, the STM Integrity Hub, and STM Solutions—among other initiatives that have realized significant collective benefits. Most recently, IJsbrand Jan initiated and led the CUSAP Task-and-Finish Group that explores innovative methods for notifying content hosting platforms about retractions, errata, and other critical updates to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

A visionary, IJsbrand Jan has been a consistent source of inspiration for the popular STM Tech Trends series. Two examples of his influence and foresight: Tech Trends 2017’s focus on trust and integrity; and 2018’s theme of Artificial Intelligence and its looming impact

And IJsbrand Jan has often been the first to recognize how collective efforts among STM members can offer the greatest added value to our entire community, with a primary focus on advancing research and benefiting researchers. 

Aside from his contributions as a deep and creative thinker, IJsbrand Jan introduced very useful and practical ways of working to STeC that accelerated the pace of innovation while at the same time improving transparency and accountability. Many of these processes have inspired practices in the recently-established STM committees, leaving as a stamp on STM his measured and deliberate approach. 

Perhaps most significant is the way that he has championed collaboration, challenging and inspiring colleagues across the sector to seek opportunities to work together. He is a firm believer that collaboration can strengthen us all and create real and meaningful value for the research communities we serve.