Leo Maas

Leo Maas' work has been seminal and an inspiration to me, particularly his work on internal waves.

Leo was one of the fundaments of the physics department at NIOZ. We have fallen below the critical mass and his experience is not easily replaced by new people.

What a shame! Leo is a great physical oceanographer and teacher, with his calmness and willing to explain complex scientific problems in a very clear way. As a student he supervised me in analysing a dataset of CTD measurements by seals, where he inspired me by finding such simple solutions to what seemed to me an impossible task. It is unbelievable that NIOZ is even considering throwing such an important asset, who represents the physical aspect of the ocean, overboard.

Leo has been my master thesis supervisor. His never-ending curiosity for our world inspired and motivated me. He is a great scientist and a wonderful Professor. It would be really sad if the NIOZ decides to abolish the position of such a brilliant mind.

This is a shame and an insult to the whole scientific community. Also, this short shortsighted decision is scary as hell because what has happened to Leo Maas could happen to any young scientist who is NOW riding the wave of the hot topic of this very moment. But what will happen then? Leo should be awarded, not punished

International embarrassment for NIOZ to do things this way, Leo Maas is a worldwide reference in the field.

This is not the way established scientists should be treated.

I respect Leo and his work. It would be a shame if his position would be cancelled. Doctoral Student at B-TU Cottbus-Senftenberg, DE

Former director of Marine Biology Institute of National Council of Research, Venice, Italy.

I know Leo for a long time and like him as a person and admire him for the breadth of his physical and mathematical knowledge. I find it therefore very sad that NIOZ did not succeed in making arrangements that would enable Leo to continue his work.

Leo has been my PhD supervisor. He led me during those years with the enthusiasm of someone who is really in love with what he does. His daily example of passion, dedication, imagination, curiosity, scientific rigour and out of the box thinking has been a great motivation and inspiration to me. His contributions to his field are renowned. I believe that this decision shows a level of shortsightedness and of lack of scientific understanding that is unbecoming of an institution such as the NIOZ. Having him out of the Dutch national oceanographic institute would be a shame not only for NIOZ but for the whole country.

Unbelievable!!!!!

Ocean waves and fluid mechanics. Stony Brook University

Leo Maas was my supervisor during my master thesis on interval wave attractors. He is very inspiring, connecting fundamental maths with fundamental physics/oceanography (and sometimes biology). His research involves observations, experiments and modeling, which is a unique but perfect place for scientific work. He is humble, curious and willing to falsify his own theories, so when I think of a true scientist, I think of Leo Maas. It would be loss for NIOZ and research if his position is abolished.

There is nothing more practical than theory, in particular in the field of geophysical fluid mechanics which has no opportunity to conduct direct experiments. We conducted a very successfull research project in the field of iniertial waves based on fundamental research of Leo Maas on wave attractors. He is also one of the reviewers of a PhD thesis at our departments. The decision of NIOZ is hardly understandable and I would like to ask the NIOZ management board to reconsider this decision.

Leo Maas is an internationally highly respected researcher in physical oceanography and fluid mechanics. A research institute that questions the position of such a top researcher sends a self-destructive signal to the scientific community since it unfolds a critical degree of ignorance.

Physical Oceanographer, CNRS, Brest, France

Why??

For me this move by NIOZ is absolutely impossible to understand. Once more, fundamental research in climate science suffers. Managers making this kind of decisions are just incompetent.

Prof. Dr. Leo Maas is brilliant. The reason he may be `fired' is because of a power struggle at NIOZ. This was won by people with no knowledge whatsoever of physical oceanography or fluid dynamics (chemists and biologists mostly). I wholeheartedly support Leo Maas. If Leo Maas has to leave, physical oceanography is almost completely wiped out at NIOZ and the institute could hardly call itself an Ocean Research Institute anymore. This is a shame. Prof. Dr. Maas is extremely good and I have learned much from him. He should be allowed to continue at NIOZ.