The Science Cafe about ‘science for a circular economy‘ will be on Thursday May 23rd in Café Loburg, live music by VreemdeStreekjes starting at 19.45, speakers at 20.15. Entrance is free, a small donation is welcome.
Natural resources are under pressure, yet the world population grows. How are we to supply future generations with the resources to support a happy and healthy life? These questions have inspired many to conceive alternative economies, where the production-consumption-waste chain is broken. One of these novel ideas which is formulated as the “circular economy” radically changes the concept of “resource” and “waste”. In this edition of Science Cafe Wageningen, Louise Vet will place this concept as well as the concepts of blue economy, biomimicry and green chemistry in a theoretical framework and discuss how such alternative economies could function.
Societal changes, such as the move to another production-consumption-waste chain, require individuals and corporations to make deliberate choices. Social psychologist Michel Handgraaf will discuss the change towards a circular economy from a decision-making perspective.
Prof.dr.Louise E.M. Vet is a Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at Wageningen University and director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO), the largest institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). She is a biologist with a broad interest in ecology and evolution of multitrophic interactions. She is an elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Vet was awarded several international prizes for her research. In addition to her professional interest in high quality ecological scientific research, she has a special interest in communicating the importance of ecology to the general public. Her recent outreach focuses on achieving a positive interaction between ecology and economy. Practice what you preach: she was the driving force behind the realization of the highly innovative and sustainable laboratory/office complex of the NIOO in Wageningen.
Dr. Michel J.J.Handgraaf is Associate Professor at Wageningen University (Economics of Consumers and Households). He is a Social Psychologist / Behavioural Economist with strong interest in Judgment,Decision Making and Interdependence. His main areas of research are bargaining, interdependence and the psychological aspects of economical and environmental decision-making by individuals and groups. He is also principal investigator at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions of Columbia University NY.
rts (1982) is associate professor in clinical psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. After studying and receiving her PhD in psychology from Maastricht University, she worked at Harvard and St. Andrews University. She is leading the Clinical Cognition Laboratory in Rotterdam. In short time, Elke Geraerts acquired an international reputation regarding the workings of the memory after traumatic events such as child abuse. She recently initiated a new line of research focusing on the development of new cognitive therapies for depression and anxiety disorders, and works with clinical specialists who put these treatments into practice. In 2011, Elke was voted ‘smartest woman in the Netherlands’ in the women glossy Viva and in 2012, she took part in the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Claes H. de Vreese is Professor and Chair of Political Communication and ScientificDirector of The Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR in the Department of Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam. He is director of NESCoR, the Netherlands School of Communication Research, the national research school in communication science, recognized by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences KNAW. Finally, he is adjunct professor of Political Science and Journalism at the University of Southern Denmark.
Jan A.G.M. van Dijk is Professor of Communication Science at the University of Twente, Department of Communication. His chair is called The Sociology of the Information Society. He is investigating the social aspects of information and communication technology since 1985. He is Chair of the Center for eGovernment Studies.
There will be live music at the start and intermission of the session from Groove Barrio. Groove Barrio originates from New York. At the start of the nineties, Jeroen Kruft was getting fame in the acid-jazz scene in New York. Since 2011 Jeroen has returned with Groove Barrio in Wageningen, playing music from his New York repertoire, and playing completely new compositions in the still both exciting and energetic melange of funk and jazz, mixed with some hot salsa sauce.
Dr. Martien Cohen Stuart obtained his PhD in 1980 at Wageningen University, investigating adsorption of flexible polymers at solid/liquid interfaces. In 2007, he was awarded the Ostwald Medal of the German Kolloid Gesellschaft in recognition of his seminal work on polymers in colloidal systems and self-assembly. He received the AkzoNobel Science Award in 2008 and Lectureship awards from the ACS in 2009 as well as from the Japanese Chemical Society in 2010.
Dr. Jan Eijkel studied pharmacy (University of Amsterdam) and theology (University of Utrecht) and obtained his PhD in 1995 at Twente University on biosensor research. Currently, Eijkel coordinates micro- and nanofluidics research in the BIOS / Lab on a chip group (‘Miniaturized systems for biomedical and environmental applications’). Recently, he received a TOP grant from NWO, a grant directed at research groups that excel in (bio)chemistry or chemical technology and have a proven track record.
