Abstract
May 23, 1957–February 13, 2013
The American Society of Neurorehabilitation has lost in Dr Robert Wagenaar a talented researcher and advocate of nonlinear dynamics in understanding pathologic motor control. Dr Wagenaar had recently moved back to the Netherlands from the United States to pursue his career as the Chair of Clinical Health Sciences with a focus on Physical Therapy Sciences at the Department of Rehabilitation Nursing Science and Sports of the University Medical Centre of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Until last year, he held the position of Director of the Doctor of Science in Rehabilitation Sciences Program at the College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Sargent College, Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was also Director of the Center for Rehabilitation and a tenured professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training.
Educated in the Netherlands, Dr Wagenaar studied human movement sciences. He received his PhD in movement sciences from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1990. He initially conducted research and held a teaching position at the Faculty of Movement Sciences of the VU University of Amsterdam before moving to Boston in 1998. Dr Wagenaar was the recipient of research funds from both the Dutch and US governments. His research focus was on functional recovery in individuals following stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Dr Wagenaar published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in both the English and Dutch journals.
Dr Wagenaar was an outstanding educator. During his time at Sargent College, he supervised the dissertations of more than 20 PhD students and 3 postdoctoral fellows. He was a prolific lecturer with an impressive number of invited professional presentations worldwide.
Dr Wagenaar’s service record was equally impressive. He served 2 terms on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Neurorehabilitation (ASNR). He was ASNR Program Chair for the joint ASNR/American College of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) meetings in Atlanta (2011) and Vancouver (2012). Both meetings were a resounding success, a testament to his leadership of the ASNR Program Committee and to his ability to work cohesively with the members of the ACRM Program Committee. He also served on the Editorial Board for Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, held the Chair of the Sargent College Committee for Academic Policies and Procedures, and, in addition, served on the Board of Directors for Advances in Physical Therapy.
With his first rate qualities, Dr Wagenaar was the recipient of a number of awards including the Dozor Visiting Scholar, serving the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-University of the Negev from May 29 to June 7, 2008, and a Fellowship from the American Stroke Association in 2001.
Most of all, Dr Wagenaar was an outstanding and dedicated member of the neurorehabilitation community. He left the indelible impression of a humane, thoughtful, and insightful researcher. Dr Wagenaar would always express and share his enthusiasm and was willing to help and support those around him with any needs, always seeing opportunities for collaboration in research. He will be truly missed as an innovator, networker, and visionary scientist.