Background: A management career in international financial services with AEGON and ING between 1991 and 2003.
Degree: MA in Communication Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherland (1991), MSc in Political Science (2008)
Current Position: PhD Candidate Political Science. Lecturer Science, Technology, and Public Policy, Northeastern University.
Research Areas: Comparative politics – particularly science and technology policies. International relations and international political economy.
Teaching Interests: I am interested in teaching courses in comparative politics and international relations, including courses specifically related to the field of science and technology.
Dissertation Title: Government Support of Nanotechnology in the Netherlands.
Dissertation Summary: Though the promise of nanotechnology –the capacity to control and manipulate matter at the nanoscale (1 – 100nm) is similar for all and the field is still in an early stage of development, even a bird’s eye view shows remarkable differences between the national programs initiated or sponsored by governments around the world. Where the United States has implemented a wide-ranging program, that, given its generous funding, covers a broad range of scientific endeavors and technological developments, other, often smaller countries, like the Netherlands, seem to have established nanotechnology programs, that have great ambition, yet are more limited in scope and setup than the American National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).
This research aims to explain which drivers shape the government policies in the Netherlands with regard to the development of nanotechnology and compares them to the drivers that led the U.S. government to establish the NNI in 2000. The study places nanotechnology policies in a wider setting of science and technology policies, including public policies that aim to stimulate economic activity and innovation. Given the Dutch membership of the European Union (EU) and the EU’s ambitious research and innovation programs, the study will situate the Dutch efforts in this field in its European surroundings. The findings show show whether the current government actions to promote the further development of nanotechnology are either a break or a continuation of their established science and technology policies.
