How I spent my time in 2025
At the end of every year, I check my Toggl stats to see how I spent my time. My first observation from 2025 is that I worked more hours than any tracked year before (I need to keep an eye…
How I spent my time in Fall 2025
As always at the end of the semester, I check the breakdown of my time. Below, you can find the breakdown. I spent some time on conferences - one at the beginning of the semester, and we organized one here…
How I plan collaborative papers
In recent years, I’ve found myself working on more and more collaborative papers through technical committees, project teams, or simply with colleagues whose work complements mine. Collaborative writing can be both rewarding and challenging. While it brings in multiple perspectives…
Starting new roles
Since November, I’ve stepped into two new roles: I am now the Editor-in-Chief of Structural Engineering International and serve as Vice President of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE). These appointments come with great responsibility and even…
My method of PhD supervision
Supervising PhD students is often described as one of the most rewarding yet challenging aspects of academia. For many doctoral students, the supervisory relationship can be a source of frustration, confusion, and even loneliness. At the same time, supervision requires…
Why I still take oral exams
In the MSc program at Delft University of Technology, I teach and coordinate a course Assessment of Existing Concrete Structures. For this course, I still choose to assess students through oral exams (yup, every single one of them). This semester,…
PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: LinkedIn for academics
This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands. These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those…
Closing projects properly
In 2019, I started a major research project on bridge load testing. Then in 2020, a second big project on a related topic followed. Over the years, both have become long-standing parts of my professional life, with regular meetings and…
Academic parenthood nowadays
My interest in academic parenthood developed years ago, as I began to experience firsthand the dance between research deadlines, teaching, and school pick-ups. This personal experience led me to collaborate with international colleagues on a paper that examined the impact…
A bit more about dealing with rejections
In July, I wrote about the rejection of a large proposal that had taken me 340 hours (of my one, precious, unique life) to put together, and how I felt about it at the time. In the mean time, I've…