Junior Eurovision Song Contest winner Ralf Mackenbach obtains doctorate

Junior Eurovision Song Contest winner Ralf Mackenbach obtains doctorate

Ralf Mackenbach, winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2009, has defended his thesis on red-hot plasma with honors at TU Eindhoven. He thus obtained his doctorate and can now embark on a career as a physicist.

Scientific Contributions

The 28-year-old singer, actor, and physicist developed a mathematical model that can contribute to better control of nuclear fusion material in the future, the educational institution reports on its website. Nuclear fusion is seen as a possible sustainable energy source in the future.

Innovative Accessory

Mackenbach wore a necklace with a piece of jewelry in the shape of a ‘wrapped donut’ at the meeting. The special accessory represents the “particles in the hot plasma that are held together by magnetic fields”. According to a report on the TU Eindhoven website, “Ralf’s eyes shine when he talks about the sun.”

According to Mackenbach, the chain also helps to explain to “friends who are not in the field” what he is doing. “A term like ‘wrapped donut’ becomes a lot more insightful,” he said.

Early Career Success

Mackenbach had his breakthrough in 2009 when he won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, for participants aged ten to fifteen, with the song Click Clack.