The team

Science Café Wageningen is an initiative of Wageningen UR employees and students. The current organizing team consists of :

 

Gerlinde de Deyn (Professor Soil Quality)

To me a vivid scientific community is the most important thing to make me feel at home and inspired wherever science (mostly in the realm of ecology) brings me across the globe. My main reason to join the Science Café Wageningen team is to contribute to the inspiring and fun atmosphere in Wageningen in which students, scientists and the general public can meet, and from which I learn a lot too.

Karin Schroën (Personal Professor Food Process Engineering)

The science cafe team is a bunch of super enthusiastic scientists from various fields that join forces to bring science to a broad audience in a pleasant and stimulating atmosphere. It is a pleasure to be part of this, and see how much people get out of listening to, and discussing with our top notch guest presenters. This really broadens everyone’s field of view, and is simply great fun due to the informal settings of being in a cafe.

Julia Krug

Lu Zhang

Beatriz Subtil

Ingrid van de Leemput

I love listening to other scientists explaining their newest insights, their passion, and their struggles. I find it important to share our work with the public, sparking enthusiasm in a diverse crowd of people, and triggering discussions on current and complex issues that people can relate to. My background is theoretical ecology, and I’m trying to understand, model and measure emergent dynamics of complex systems, such as tipping points in the climate, people, ecosystems, and society.  

Ron Rotbarth (PhD candidate in Ecology)

I engage in scientific work not only to understand the world we live in and how humanity is changing this world but also to communicate every new bit of our understanding to the public. I strongly believe that by making as many people in our society aware of new scientific knowledge we can ultimately make the decisions that would advance humankind by simultaneously building a sustainable future for all. We at Science Café Wageningen contribute whatever we can do to inform the public about the newest research in a fun, informative and easy-to-grasp way. It is rewarding work to see so many people from all kinds of backgrounds discuss a wide range of topics with experts in the field.

Valente Ramírez (Lecturer Mathematical & Statistical Methods)

Neli Prota (Knowledge broker)

I see a gap between the science and the end users of that science and I want to bridge it. I am passionate about green living, sustainable practices, healthy lifestyle, learning from nature, parenting and personal development. I have a background as a molecular biologist with a PhD in natural crop protection, but
more than working in a lab, I want to provide service to society by using my natural propensity at communicating, teaching, influencing and motivating others, for a better world. The Science café allows me to learn about new things and it is a way to bring the current knowledge to the end users. As a team member, my main responsibility is the graphic design of the promotion material and I’ll occasionally take photos during the events.

 

Moderator:

Jelle de Gruyter (partner at GAW communicatie+ontwerp)

Simon Vink (former spokesman WUR Executive Board)

Music coordinator: 

Javier Garcia Vicente (musician, www.troubagroove.com)

 

Exploring and discussing science with professionals, funky music and a drink.