Masterclass: Aansluiting wetenschap - praktijk/beleid in Waddengebied op 17 mei 2011 in het Huis voor de Wadden in Leeuwarden.

Climate change. Food security. Water resources. Biodiversity. These evocative titles are not issues that, in the eye of the Public and Politicians, are easily linked to soil scientists. Rather, they are challenges seen to be dealt with by other scientists in multidisciplinary think-tanks linking into Parliamentary commissions and the front page of newspapers. Soil scientists have kept a remarkably low profile in such discussions and think tanks, despite the central importance of soils to all of these issues.

In maart 2011 is de 50e promovendus gestart met een vierjarig onderzoekstraject binnen Kennis voor Klimaat (KvK). SENSE Promovenda Emma Daniels (25) is niet de allernieuwste, maar wel een van de jonge onderzoekers die in 2011 is gestart. 'Ik vind het leuk om mee te werken in een breder programma.'

Vrijdag 18 maart promoveert Alireza Seifi als vijfduizendste promovendus aan Wageningen University, onderdeel van Wageningen UR. De plechtigheid krijgt een extra feestelijk tintje. Rector Magnificus van Wageningen University prof.dr. Martin Kropff zal de promotieplechtigheid voorzitten. Promovendus Alireza Seifi, afkomstig uit Iran, verdedigt zijn proefschrift over het typeren van genen in tomaten die zorgdragen voor resistentie tegen meeldauw.

On December 1st 2010, our fellow research cluster members in Amsterdam, at the IVM (VU University) were kind enough to host the second Research Cluster XIII meeting. Jan Vermaat welcomed us to the institute. Dolf de Groot, the cluster’s coordinator (together with Paul Opdam), welcomed the 25 attendants to the meeting. After analysing the common playground of the cluster, Dolf suggested that the overarching topic which “binds us all” would be ecosystem and landscape services. He also said that, within the cluster, research could be roughly divided into three fields, related to ecosystem and landscape services: 1) Biophysical and ecological aspects; 2) Valuation and perception; and 3) Intervention, planning and design. Further thoughts on how to present “what binds us all” to the outside world were welcomed. It was also pointed out that the number of researchers and institutes that have become more actively involved in the cluster has increased steadily.