First Prince Friso memorial award given to top engineer

The first Prince Friso engineering award was given to Allard van Hoeken, Head of New Energy at Bluewater Energy Services. The prize was handed to Van Hoeken by the head of the Royal Institute of Engineering (KIVI) in presence of Prince Friso's mother and his widow, Princesses Beatrix and Mabel. “Van Hoeken strove for international success through combining technological innovations with business insight. He can inspire change from traditional to renewable energy”, said the jury chariman Micaela dos Ramos. The Engineer of the Year prize awarded by KIVI was named after the deceased Prince Friso, who was a mechanical and aerospace engineer, as well as a member of the KIVI. Prince Friso died in 2013. He was in a coma for several months after succumbing to an avalanche while on a ski holiday.