Four weeks ago I arrived in San Francisco. Peter Wijsman from Arcadis U.S. picked me up from the airport and brought me to my temporary new home: Stanford University’s campus. It was a beautiful day with a clear sky and a nice warm summer breeze. Surrounded by palm trees I instantly felt at home!

I’m here to study the effects of sea level rise along the Californian coast. In order to do so I’m developing a hydro dynamical model to simulate the water flow in the Pacific ocean. In the future, this model will be accurate enough to use in operation prediction systems, providing online water level and velocity predictions.

During my stay I will work together closely with a research group at Stanford University. They are examining the effects of sea level rise in several large ports around the world. I share my office with 10 Master and PhD students and I am amazed by their motivation and discipline. The students don’t complain when their classes start at 8 a.m. in the morning and finish at 10 p.m. at night. Neither do they seem to mind to stay up and work all night to finish an assignment.

It certainly is an inspirational environment!