Action Leader in the Global Security & Crisis Management Unit of the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen at the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy.

I originally studied Mechanical Engineering in the Netherlands. My first job was as a programmer at the ECN in the Netherlands (Dutch Energy Research). In 1985 I moved to the UK and started working as a programmer for the Commission and that was the start of my career in the Commission. In 1994, I was called for an interview in Ispra and I was offered a job. For the first 5 years, I worked in the area of Crop Growth Monitoring (and simulation), and in 2000 I changed to the group I am currently working in. The current project, in which I have been involved since the very beginning, is the first pure IT project in my career (Information processing).