The Randstad, Netherlands
Information manager connecting the demand for digital innovation with the technical possibilities. He has a background as coastal oceanographer, data scientist, manager Datalab, program manager BI and innovation manager. After graduating in environmental fluid mechanics, he obtained his doctorate in coastal oceanography from TU Delft, focusing on the coastal oceanography of the Rhine river plume using NASA satellite data and 3D numerical models on a HPC. He worked over 10 year at Deltares as consultant on remote sensing, numerical modelling and data management. His specialty was multidisciplinary data management in large environmental monitoring programs (Building with Nature). He is co-founder of the OpenEarth initiative on open source sharing of data, models and tools. During this period he was member of the MODEG marine data export group to the European Commision. Subsequently he moved to Van Oord to set-up a Datalab. He grew the department from a 2 person internal start-up to an operational department of 20 fte (with 2 business critical applications). During this period he also ran the corporate BI program (Qlik) to establish a central data analytics and dashboard system. Subsequently he moved on to the demand side of digital innovation. As Innovation manager he worked on structuring the innovation process. Currently he is involved in the early stage of digital innovation as information manager. With very simple tools and rapid prototyping in fast iteration cycles (Ideation <> PoC <> MVP) he explores and refines the the top-down demand for Digital Innovations with the endless bottom-up supply of technical possibilities. Often demand for innovation can simply be realized by better use of existing tools, training, better business processes (lean) and reimagination. His technical scope to meet innovation demands ranges from setting up sustainable Excel 2.0 workflows (AI as in Automation Intelligence) and data governance using SharePoint, to python-development of logistical optimizations (discrete events) or an LLM chatbot running on Kubernetes.
Product Owner internal (RAG LLM) chatbot VOGPT. Tech lead Document & Knowlegde Management System (SharePoint), to serve as high quality data source for AI development. Automation and optimization of dike design (paramatric design, GEOLib, BIM).
Manager innovation (R&D) for Business Unit Dredging and Infra + Engineering and Estimating department. Member of corporate Vox Innovation group responsible for establishment of management approach, procedures and reporting systems for roadmap creation, portfolio selection and iterative project execution (TRL levels). Responsible for WBSO innovation subsidies.
* Manager Datalab at Engineering & Estimating Department. Growing department from 2 person internal start-up to 20 person department with 2 business critical cloud applications (iso27001). Introduction of Github, Azure VMs (Ubuntu), Docker, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Kubernetes (AKS) at Van Oord. * Data scientist: e.g. Climate Risk Overview (global GIS analyses for business development), OpenCLSim (discrete event simulations), internal metocean and geotechnical dataportals.
Representing the contractors in this formal collaboration between governments, research instuitutes and consultancy.
Coastal oceanography and Dredging Operations Optimization (OpenCLSim): supervising MSc and PhD students, guest lectures.
* Principles of modelling + Matlab programming (~400 BSc students). * Computational hydraulics practical Delft3D/Matlab (MSc course)
Coastal oceanography of the Rhine river plume.
Advising EC on early development of EMODnet.
Co-founder of OpenEarth, an open source community to share data, models and tools. Advocated adoption of standards for multi-disciplinary datasets: SubVersion for our Matlab toolboxes, a library to create 3D Google Earths models, netCDF for grid data, PostgreSQL for vector data, geoserver and geonetworks. Client: Building with Nature, Project Mainportontwikkeling Rotterdam. Created a special version of the SWAN ocean wave model to handle the disperison relation for soft mud beds. Client: Office of Naval Research (ONR). Product manager of Operational Oceandata Service https://matroos.rws.nl. Client: Rijkswaterstaat. 3D baroclinic numerical ocean modelling with Delft3D and DflowFM. Client: various.