Gerard van der Steenhoven - Biography#

Gerard van der Steenhoven is a special advisor at the ministry of the Interior (and Kingdom Relations) in the Netherlands, and part-time professor at the University of Twente in meteorological and climatological disaster risk reduction. From 2014 until 2023 he served a nine-year term as Director General of the Royal Netherlands’ Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Previously, he was dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Twente (2008 - 2013), and president of the Netherlands’ Physical Society (NNV, 2007 - 2013). As KNMI director he initiated a multi-annual investment in the renewal of the observational and IT infrastructure of the institute, leading to the development of a national Early Warning Center. Within Europe he served as chair of the EUMETSAT council (2018 - 2022) and initiated the development of the first European NMHS directors’ strategy (2016). At present his activities focus on supporting various climate initiatives in the Netherlands (such as the national Climate Research Initiative NL (KIN), and the regional Delta Climate Centre (DCC) in Vlissingen), various assessment committees, public lectures and advisory work.

Gerard van der Steenhoven obtained his PhD in experimental physics at the Vrije Universiteit in 1987 and worked as a postdoc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) thereafter. In 1989 he started as a senior researcher at the national research institute Nikhef in Amsterdam.