Gerben J. de Boer
After graduating as a civil engineer, Gerben J. de Boer obtained his doctorate in coastal oceanography from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands, focusing on the stratification of the Rhine river plume. He worked for over 10 years at Deltares as a consultant on remote sensing, numerical modelling and data management, and was a member of the MODEG marine data export group to the European Commission. Since 2014, Gerben is the manager of the Datalab at Van Oord’s Engineering and Estimating department.
Articles By Gerben J. de Boer
Simulating for sustainability: alternative operating strategies for energy efficiency
In the 2015 Paris agreement, countries committed to implementing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming. For the maritime industry specifically, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has proposed measures for energy efficiency of vessels and candidate measures regarding fuel choice and speed optimisation. This article aims to contribute to the latter by showing how logistical simulations can be used to optimise fleet operations. We will illustrate this in the form of a conceptual case using one cutter and a range of barge fleets. Running simulations with all possible fleets, we will demonstrate the value of extra energy-based alternatives to challenge the fastest, cheapest and most flexible alternatives.
Climate Risk Overview tool: mapping naturebased flood protection opportunities
The planet is facing enormous challenges caused by human activity, increasing the vulnerability of communities and ecosystems to the forces of nature. This is worsened by the effects of climate change, which is threatening the world’s coastal defences. Van Oord has responded to these challenges by developing the Climate Adaptation Action Plan. The plan is designed to encourage meaningful dialogue between stakeholders in order to provide ready-to-scale marine solutions that help increase the resilience of the communities and ecosystems of coastal areas.
OpenEarth: A Knowledge Management Workflow for Dredging Projects
Reinventing the wheel for every project is not cost-efficient. A new knowledge database offers a free, open, transparent and continually growing source of data, models and tools.