INTERVIEW
Photos: Rikkert Harink Text: Michaela Nesvarova
AGAINST ALL ODDS: THE STORY OF DAVID FERNANDEZ RIVAS
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’I WANT TO REMAIN RELEVANT‘ AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY, IN HAVANA AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, IT SEEMED HIGHLY IMPROBABLE THAT A STUDENT, WITH A NEWBORN AND HARDLY ANY OPTIONS TO GO ABROAD, COULD BUILD A FINE SCIENTIFIC CAREER IN EUROPE, DEVELOP A SENSATIONAL MEDICAL INNOVATION AND BECOME THE DUTCH ENGINEER OF THE YEAR. YET THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT DAVID FERNANDEZ RIVAS (39) DID.
T ‘ his has been a crazy year on all fronts,’ says David Fernandez
Rivas. Throughout the lockdown, the UT scientist welcomed a second baby boy, received a promotion, secured a book deal and won the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs 2021. This particular accomplishment threw him into a media whirlwind. ‘Many journalists shoot the same questions at me,’ he says. ‘But you promised me that you wouldn’t!’ Which is why we don’t bring you a story about his – now famous – needleless injections, but about the journey leading up to them. The researcher arrives five minutes late to the interview, running in and apologizing. ‘I was taking my youngest to daycare and on the way I smelled that we had a situation.’ David Fernandez Rivas says it as it is. ‘I don’t want to bullshit anyone,’ he mentions later, and clearly he means it. ‘It’s been a big year!’ he proclaims and begins listing events of the past months, starting off with his main priority: family. ‘Our second baby was born, but no family could come and see him yet. I come from Cuba and our family is scattered all over the world. It sounds exciting, but it is very difficult to see everyone. It was very heavy on us during the lockdown.’
THE BIG PRIZE Even with everyone locked at home, Fernandez Rivas’ career got a big boost recently. ‘My promotion to adjunct professor is official, so I will get my Harry Potter-styled robe soon,’ he laughs. And there was the ‘Prince Friso Engineering prize’ of course, which launched the UT researcher into the international spotlight. ‘Winning the prize was more work than I expected,’ he says. ‘There is a lot happening behind the scenes: writing motivation letters, give interviews, make a short movie in the lab, attend the ceremony… and more happening afterwards. Suddenly there was so much attention from the media. I am glad that this prize brought Cubans from both sides of the political spectrum together. Apart from that, we still have to see what the prize will bring, I didn’t have a lot of chances to network yet due the pandemic. But it was certainly a special moment. Not because I could talk to royalty,’ – he received the award (digitally) from Princess Mabel and Princess Beatrix. ‘But because the prize is a memory to a great engineer and his family supports this recognition.’
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