TNO employee stories

Read the personal stories of employees about working at TNO.

Charlotte Kjellander - Scientist and manager at TNO & co-founder and managing director of start-up Touchwaves

‘What we initiated through research within TNO, we are now bringing to life in a spin-off company.’

Anne Fleur van Veenstra - Scientific Director TNO Vector

‘My field was always seen as abstract, boring. Until the “Toeslagenaffaire”, or Dutch Benefits scandal. By then, more people realised: data, algorithms and government, that combination is very intriguing. And developments are only accelerating: we ain't seen nothing yet.’

Matijs Heiligers - Senior Radar Technology Scientist

‘Working together with the very best experts helps me tremendously in my work and research’.

Joanne Donkers - Scientist Metabolic Health Research

Joanne Donkers is a medior scientist in the Metabolic Health Research expertise group. During her PhD, she missed the applicability of research, but at TNO, her every need is met.

Noura El Ouajdi - Program Manager ASOP

‘TNO is a wonderful playground for socially relevant initiatives.’ - Noura El Ouajdi is an ecosystem lead for the Consortium for Automated Security Operations (ASOP), which combats sophisticated cyberattacks and other complex security threats.

Kallol Das - Senior Scientist

‘We know what society needs, both now and in the future.’ Senior scientist Kallol Das likes to look ahead. What will the world look like in ten or fifteen years’ time, when intelligent wireless networks are in seamless contact with people and environments?

Jasper van der Waa - Scientist Human-AI Collaboration

‘For humans and AI applications to function effectively and responsibly, they need to collaborate. My research revolves around shaping that human-AI collaboration.’

Niek van Breederode - Team Lead Infrastructure

Groundbreaking innovations cannot be achieved without a stable and safe ICT infrastructure. This is the responsibility of Niek van Brederode (and his forty colleagues). ‘What we deliver here is truly high-end’.

Yvette Fleming - Senior Business Developer

‘My name is Yvette Fleming working as Senior Business Developer for Child health and Innovation for Development. I am passionate about co-creating knowledge and innovations with all stakeholders (target group, public and private sector, funders), translating into practical concepts (business cases), prototype and bringing to scale.’

Laurie Hermans - Innovator Scientist

‘The energy transition is more than a technological transition.’  As a social scientist – a cultural anthropologist, to be precise – Laurie Hermans is outnumbered at TNO. Even so, she feels right at home here.

Judith Dijk - Senior Research Scientist

Judith is specialised in extracting information from camera images. She now applies the subject of her PhD thesis in Physics, which she obtained 18 years ago, to her work as a research scientist at TNO, including in a research programme on camera systems for the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

Peter Paul van 't Veen - Senior Business Developer

Peter Paul has 30 years experience of developing and managing innovations, for example in high-tech, the processing industry, construction, and the maritime industry. He now makes use of this experience in TNO innovation projects in low and middle-income countries.

Mathilde Miedema - Program Director

With TNO Innovation for Development (I4D), Mathilde Miedema launches innovative solutions for societal problems in low and middle-income countries. In this way, TNO helps to create greater equality in the world.

Annemieke Kips - Research Manager Networks

‘What we develop is used worldwide’. Annemieke Kips is research manager Networks. She firmly believes in the relevance of her department’s expertise and is proud of a team that can compete with the world’s best.

Berry Vetjens - Director Market

Managing Director (a.i.) & Director market unit ICT, Strategy & Policy (ISP), with a passion for major innovation challenges that can be accelerated with digitisation.

Marjolein Meijerink - Medior Scientist Immunology

‘We predict the health risks of foods that are still being developed’ - Marjolein Meijerink is medior scientist Immunology, who is clear about her mission. She wants food allergy sufferers to know what their food contains so they can safely and happily enjoy what they are eating.

Shari Finner - Project manager Cyber Security

‘You learn the most by leaving your comfort zone.’ When Shari Finner decided to venture beyond the world of academia, she heard about the TNO Trainee Programme. She’s now finding out which role and research area suit her best.

Bastiaan Wissingh - Senior Scientist Networks

Bastiaan Wissingh is Senior Research Scientist at the Networks department, specialized in new and innovative communication technologies for the Automotive domain like IEEE 802.11p, 3GPP C-V2X and ETSI Geonetworking with PKI. He also has affinity with new networking concepts like Information Centric Networking (ICN), Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) and 5G.

Stefanie Bus - Geohydrologist

‘We need to know what’s going on below us.’ Stefanie Bus is a geohydrologist. Through her research, she provides the data and insights needed to understand the behaviour of our groundwater.

Karim El Assal - System Architect and Project Manager

‘I like turning science fiction into reality.’ Karim El Assal is a Scientist Innovator in TNO’s Networks department. As a software developer, he feels at home in a network department as he’s working on the communication applications that will be implemented in the network in the future.

Caroline van der Weerdt - Senior Consultant

‘Human behaviour is where every innovation starts and ends.’ Caroline van der Weerdt is firmly convinced that an innovation is only successful if it has a real impact on people. Shouldn't every TNO research project have its own behavioural expert as standard?

Belma Turkovic - Scientist Innovator Networks

Belma has been working at TNO for less than a year and there is already a key network function of TNO’s own 5G test environment named after her: the ‘Belma UPF’. It’s a compliment from her colleagues for her contribution to developing it.

Mirjam Nelisse - Senior Consultant

‘Risk analysis will always be people’s work.’ If you want to analyse the safety risks and reliability of infrastructure, go to research scientist Mirjam Nelisse. As strange as it may sound, 100% safe infrastructure is not the aim.

Romée Kars - Geologist, Geomodeller

‘Let's listen to what the earth has to tell us.’ Romée Kars and her fellow researchers from the Geological Survey of the Netherlands use geomodelling to map the Dutch subsurface. This is inspiring work, because what is more interesting than the earth, the basis of everything?

Sayeda Nowrozon Nahar - Scientist Innovator

‘Green asphalt will be there faster if we work together.’ The passion of chemical engineer Sayeda Nowrozon Nahar is asphalt, sustainable asphalt to be precise. Wouldn't it be great if we could soon drive on roads made of bio-asphalt throughout the Netherlands?

Gabriele Spini - Medior Scientist Innovator

‘I can offer solutions.’ Gabriele Spini is a cryptologist at Cyber Security & Robustness. He enjoys using cryptography to come up with solutions to problems that confront colleagues in other fields.

Jurrit Bergsma - Business Developer & PhD Candidate

‘The shipping industry is like a big vessel: it takes time to change course, but when we are on route, we’re unstoppable.’ Jurrit Bergsma and his colleagues are looking for solutions to the challenges of making the shipping industry more sustainable. He does this as a business developer and a PhD candidate, both for the shipping industry itself and the world in which we live.

Mathieu Baas - Manager Real Estate

‘Our Operations is becoming a showcase for our research.’ TNO wants to take a big step towards even more sustainable research facilities. That is also the mission of Mathieu Baas, program manager Energy & Sustainability in the Corporate Real Estate & Facilities department. "We already have a lot of inhouse expertise for this."

Nadine Wennersbusch - Senior Project Manager

‘Wanting to know how the world works and then improve it.’ Nadine Wennersbusch is senior project manager in the Sustainable Process & Energy Systems department. With her analytical eye she likes to contribute to everything that concerns the project execution. So project management suits her down to the ground.

Benjamin Brenny - Optical Designer

‘At TNO, you can truly immerse yourself in technology.’ Benjamin Brenny is an optical designer in the Optics department. At TNO, he feels he can really focus on the essence of his profession. In the future, he would like to make a broader contribution, particularly by bringing together different areas of expertise. This is, he notes with satisfaction, possible at TNO.

Bart Jan Peet - Medior Scientist Innovator

‘A new puzzle every day.’ Bart Jan Peet is a scientist innovator at Electronic Defence. That field of study really started to interest him when he came into contact with it at TNO.

Robert Muller - Scientist Innovator

‘TNO encourages you to step out of your comfort zone.’ Robert Muller is scientist & innovator in the Electronic Defence department of TNO. He had never thought beforehand that he would work at TNO, but he soon realised that he could really flourish there. It gives him great satisfaction to be able to combine theory and the development of practical application in one job.

Anna Tchebotareva - Senior Scientist

‘That feeling of “Eureka! We’ve got it!” is what it’s all about.’ Senior scientist in the optics department Anna Tchebotareva conducts top-notch research for programmes including QuTech. A joint research and development programme in the field of quantum computers, quantum communication and quantum technology, QuTech involves researchers from TU Delft, TNO and industry partners. While the practical application of quantum technology is still some way off, the focus is firmly on products for the future.

Edwin Harmsma - Senior Consultant

‘I’m portfolio manager within the department Monitoring Control Services with a background in Software Engineering and Distributed Systems. I’m involved in building ecosystems and innovation projects around federated clouds (e.g. Gaia-X) and the European Cloud-Edge Continuum. As software architect I study both reference architectures for digital platforms and infrastructures, as well as cloud native technologies that enable flexible data processing in hyperscale platforms.’

Bob Dirks - Senior Systems Architect

‘I want to put quantum technology into space.’ Bob Dirks always wanted to become an astronaut. As a systems architect in quantum-, optical and space technology at TNO, he has come surprisingly close to achieving his childhood dream.

Ton van Koersel - Senior Business Developer UWW

‘Our navy deserves the best possible submarine.’ He may not quite collect model submarines in his spare time, but otherwise the life of senior business developer Ton van Koersel is almost entirely dominated by undersea warfare.

Giampiero Gerini - Professor Material Engineering

‘The things we are researching today will be standard in about ten to fifteen years’ time.’ Giampiero Gerini is Senior Scientist in the Optics department. As far as he is concerned, research is always a combination of ground-breaking innovation and application driven research.

Stefan Bäumer - Senior Optical Designer

‘It starts with optics.’ Optical technologies are opening up new potential within TNO, says Senior Optical Designer Stefan Bäumer. Society makes demands, we offer solutions.

Jacqueline van Veldhoven - Scientist

"From sea mines to semiconductors, only TNO can do that!" Jacqueline van Veldhoven is a researcher in the nano-instrumentation department at TNO. She originally came to TNO to work on combating sea mines, but now has work that is closer to her PhD research: to find out how lithographic machines in the semiconductor industry can continue to produce cleanly.

Ronald Dekker - Senior Scientist Integrator

‘What drives me is wanting to know exactly what the situation really is.’ Labour economist Ronald Dekker studies labour market dynamics and social innovation. Where better to do that than at TNO, whose research teams often help companies to put innovations into practice?