Richard van de Sanden is the scientific director of the Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems (EIRES) and a professor at the Department of Applied Physics of the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. He is also a research group leader at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) where he has been director from 2011 until July 2020. He received his Ph.D. in 1991 from the Eindhoven University on a fundamental plasma physics subject. In 1990, he was appointed an Assistant Professor, his main interest being the fundamentals of plasma assisted processing of materials. In 2000, he was appointed as a full-time professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology. At the DIFFER institute he focuses on the physics and chemistry of plasma-surface interaction and on research into the direct and indirect conversion of renewable energy into synthetic fuels and chemicals.
He is a member of several (scientific) advisory boards for (inter-)national programs, institutes and departments. He was the chairman of the advisory committee on Electrochemical Conversion and Materials (ECCM) between 2017-2022, and an active member of the Energy committee of the European Academies for Science Advisory Council (EASAC). In 2021 he became a member of the NWO-TTW board and since 2022 he represents this board in the NWO-NWA program committee. Since 2023 he is a member of the Topteam Energy (Captain of Science of Topsector Energy).
Jacqueline Vaessen has been Figurehead for the Top Sector ChemistryNL since September 2021. In this capacity, she also chairs the Circular Economy Mission Team. Vaessen, who has a master’s degree in chemical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, began her career in 1989 at Shell Chemicals. She then worked for Syntens for eight years as an innovation broker and later as regional manager. In 2004, she decided to become self-employed, focusing on energy saving within industry and on alternative ways to generate renewable energy. Jacqueline Vaessen was politically active as a member of the Province of Utrecht until September 2018, acting as spokesperson for energy and economy. From 2018 to 2022, Vaessen was general manager of Nexstep, the national platform for reuse and decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.
Prof Paulien Herder is the dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and professor of Energy Systems at TU Delft. She specialises in energy systems integration and in making energy and industry free of fossil fuels through electrochemical conversion by combining technical sciences with social and behavioural sciences. Between 2013 and 2019, she was Director of the Delft Energy Initiative, which is a portal to around 1000 energy researchers on the Delft campus. She is a member of the Supervisory Board of Hotelschool The Hague and a member of the Scientific Sounding Board Committee for the North Sea Consultation.
Dirk graduated from Utrecht University in 1989 with a PhD in Mathematical Physics, String Theory. He went on to complete an academic post-doctorate at Berkeley and was awarded a post-doctorate at Harvard University. He joined Shell’s Geophysics R&D department in the Netherlands in 1992. He retired from Shell in November 2023.
While at Shell he has held numerous positions, including Chief Geophysicist for Shell UK, and Vice President Exploration and Upstream Technology. Since 2011 he has been Chief Scientist Geophysics and since 2016 he has been appointed Vice President Research Strategy while continuing in his roles as Chairman for the Shell Science Council. From 2016 onwards his work is mostly on “systems thinking and engineering” aspects of the energy transition to a net-zero emission system. He is frequently asked keynote speaker in Europe, US and Asia, and writes about aspects of the energy transition. He was Shell’s (first ever) Corporate Chief Scientist (Chief Science Officer) since 2022 advising the Executive Committee and Board.
Marco leads Nobian’s R&D and Technology agenda and is responsible for sustainability across the company. He brings a deep knowledge of technology transformation, open innovation (collaboration with universities, startups and in consortia), circular economy, electrification and Industry 4.0. Marco has held various (senior) management positions, including at Unilever and AkzoNobel. Previously, he was Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Maritime Engineering and Materials Science at Delft University of Technology. Marco is member of the Board of the VNCI (Dutch Chemical Industry Association) and Chairman of its Technology and Innovation Policy Committee. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the ISPT (Institute for Sustainable Process Technology and member of various committees and advisory boards. He studied (bio)chemical engineering and information technology at the University of Amsterdam.
