Get a glimpse into the inner workings of international organizations and their impact on our world through mini-presentations by 4TU alumni who will talk about their careers at the World Bank and the European Space Agency during a special gathering in Washington DC on Tuesday September 12th.
The DEAN* event will be hosted at the Dutch Embassy in Washington DC with two great speakers! Hear from Siet Meijer (alumna WUR) about working as a Senior Environmental Specialist at the World Bank and her career spanning over 18 years. Learn from Maurice te Plate (alumnus UT) about the role of ESA NIRSpec Systems Engineer in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project and thoughts about an effort that has lasted him over two decades. The programme also includes updates from both the Embassy as well as our TU's, and concludes with a networking 'borrel'. Prior registration is necessary to attend so please sign up using the link below.
| Siet Meijer is a Senior Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. She started her new role as the World Bank Global Environment Facility (GEF) Coordinator in the Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Department this July. Prior to that she worked in Climate Change Global Practice for 5 years where she was the Program Manager for both Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) Funds working on Carbon Crediting. During her time at the World Bank she has also worked in East Asia Environment and South Asia Environment as well as the Africa Energy Departments. Before joining the Bank, Siet worked at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on food projection models and also at the World Resources Institute (WRI) focusing on nutrient trading. Siet holds an MSc in Rural Development and Environmental Economics from Wageningen University & Research. |
| Maurice te Plate is an optical physicist at the European Space Agency (ESA). He is currently holding the position of ESA NIRSpec Systems Engineer for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Maurice is based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and also has an office at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD from which the JWST mission is led. His main technical fields of expertise are physics and optics. Specialties: Optics, Opto-Mechanics, optical design and analysis, spectroscopy, imaging, assembly integration and testing, calibration. Maurice studied at the University of Twente from 1988 to 1993 and earned an MSc in Applied Physics. His previous work experience has included a brief stint following his graduation at Abbot Laboratories (1994), 7 years at the TNO Institute of Applied Physics (1995-2001), and 11 years at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (2001-2012) which is the ESA’s main technology development and test facility for spacecraft and space technology. |
Participants will have an opportunity to meet fellow alumni not only from Twente but also TU Delft, TU Eindhoven & Wageningen University. With nearly 500 TU graduates living in the greater Washington DC region there will be a great cross selection of participants from different companies, sectors and roles – the closing reception/borrel will be organized to maximize networking opportunities.
This event is free for alumni from the Dutch Technical Universities but for logistical and security reasons, prior registration is required via this online form (Registration is being handled by the TU Delft Alumni Office)
Date: Tuesday September 12th 2023
Time: 5:30PM to 9:00PM (EDT)
Location: Embassy of the Netherlands, 4200 Linnean Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20008
Programme:
5:30PM – 6:00PM, Arrival with light refreshments
6:00PM – 6:10PM Opening words on behalf of the Dutch Embassy
6:10PM – 6:25PM Updates from your TU's
6:25PM – 6:55PM Talk by Siet Meijer, Senior Environmental Specialist - World Bank
6:55PM – 7:25PM Talk by Maurice te Plate, ESA NIRSpec Systems Engineer - James Webb Space Telescope
7:25PM – 7:30PM Summary
7:30PM – 9:00PM Networking Borrel
Alumni from the Washington DC area who are unable to join this gathering but wish to be notified of our future DEAN activities can submit/update their contact details using the event's registration form. A special DEAN USA Linkedin group also exists to faciliate sharing information and networking between nearly 8000 graduates living in the country - to request to become a member click here.
>> Additional DEAN events will also be taking place in Houston (Sep 7th) & New York (Sep 14th) >>
* ABOUT DEAN: The Dutch Engineers Alumni Network (DEAN) is the cooperation of the four universities of technology of the Netherlands in the field of alumni relations, and launched its activities in 2014. Together, they represent over 300,000 alumni all over the world. Today DEAN encompasses over 30 alumni communities in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Nordics, Spain, Switzerland and the USA with activities aimed at connecting local alumni both with each other as well as with students and the universities. Read more: https://www.4tu.nl/en/about_4tu/alumni/
