About Me

Early Years

I was born in the Netherlands and moved to Amsterdam to study physics at the University of Amsterdam. I became interested in theoretical physics and cosmology and pursued my doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Jan Pieter van der Schaar in an area loosely known as string cosmology. The aim of string cosmology is to derive cosmological solutions from string theory and obtain models that describe the history and evolution of the universe. My PhD work contributed to a better understanding of spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in string theory. Besides being an excellent place for theoretical physics, Amsterdam is also a vibrant city with plentiful cultural opportunities. While being there, I developed a passion for electronic music and had the chance to see many excellent DJs and producers. Later on, this experience motivated me during the COVID-19 pandemic to pick up DJing myself.

Postdoc Years

After finishing my PhD, I moved to the United States to join Prof. Gary Shiu’s research group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My research there largely focused on deriving the low-energy constraints that quantum gravity puts on low-energy effective theories. This research is sometimes seen as part of the so-called swampland program, but my interests have always been more broad. Some of the non-academic highlights of my time in Madison were running the 2021 Madison half Marathon, learning how to DJ during the pandemic and discovering the world of birds.

Birding, the act of observing and trying to correctly identify different species of birds, is a hobby that unexpectedly grabbed my attention after moving to the United States. During a trip to Arizona in 2020 me and my partner bought our first bird book (Kaufman is a great introductory field guide) leading to our first recorded lifer: the Gila Woodpecker. After that, this hobby has never become boring which is why you can often find me sporting binoculars when I’m taking a walk outside. It’s a great activity that is both intellectually challenging when trying to make a difficult identification (like physics) and a way to connect you with the outdoors (very much unlike physics). Keeping a record of observed bird species also prompted me to write a small program: BigBird. Nothing fancy, but a fun project to hone my Python skills.

From the snowy winters of the midwest, I moved to the Sonoran desert in Phoenix, Arizona to join Arizona State University and the QuRIOS collaboration as a Heising-Simons Fellow. There, I further advanced my research agenda connecting quantum gravity to observations and also learned about new approaches to this problem, such as fluctuations of causal diamonds. Being in Arizona also allowed me to see some of the birds that are specific to the Southwestern region of the United States, with highlights that include trips to Ramsey Canyon, Portal and Patagonia.

Family Years

While in Arizona, me and my partner also welcomed our daughter to the world. Combining work, family life and hobbies has been a challenge and has forced me to prioritize what I find important in life. Among these priorities are to build a research group that helps students from all backgrounds thrive, to connect with and contribute to the local community and to offer a stable environment for my family. When the end of my postdoc at Arizona State University came into sight, the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota Duluth seemed like a perfect opportunity compatible with these criteria. I am happy to start this position in Fall 2025 and excited to contribute to the academic community in Duluth.

If you’re interested in joining the research group, inviting me to your local outreach event, or just want to connect: feel free to contact me.

Three things you can find me most likely doing are theoretical physics, bird watching and running.

If you’re interested in my biographical details, see my CV. For a more personal background, please see below.

Me and running friends after finishing the 2021 Madison half Marathon.

Hiking the Grand Canyon where I observed California Condors and (suprisingly) Red-necked Phalaropes down in the Colorado river.