Interview scientist: Space engineer Stijn Ilsen
This interview is part of the series ‘Wetenschap Werkt’ (Science Works) for EOS Magazine. With the interview series we want to shed light on what scientist actually do, how they came to science and where they’re heading. The interviews are in Dutch only.
First interviewed scientist was Stijn Ilsen. He is a space engineer and more specifically tests satellites. He helped with the launch of the HERSCHEL satellite, and the PROBA1 and only recently the PROBA2 satellite.
The interview was published in Eos Magazine 10 (Oct. 2009) and can be downloaded here.
Invasion of the jellyfish
Image credit: Zando Escultura
In the water world jellyfish are the true poets. Moving in the water column with their shiny transparent bodies they seem to perform a graceful dance. But jellyfish can also injure and even kill humans when they swarm along beaches. It is important to know that these graceful sea creatures swarm in masses because we humans created the ideal conditions for jellyfish to multiply rapidly, by polluting the oceans…
The original Dutch version of the article can be read in Eos-magazine no. 2 (Febr. 2009) or downloaded here. The English version follows below:
Jellyfish and jellyfish like creatures inhabit our oceans since more than 500 million years. Only recently, since they have been known to swarm and thereby interfere with human activities, have these beautiful creatures caught the attention of scientists.
Bioplastics are not biodegradable
You may have noticed them in your health food store; thin plastic shopping bags for fruit or vegetables. Here in Belgium I have been using these whenever I had forgotten my reusable shopping bag. After using the same bag a few times, I always happily disposed it with the compost waste, until I learned these so called biodegradable or compostable bags are not really degradable…
The Dutch version of the article can be read in Eos-magazine no.9-Oct. 2009 or downloaded as pdf here. The English version follows below:
The bioplastics industry is telling us that bioplastics are biodegradable or compostable. But this is not really true. In Flanders (northern part of Belgium) and probably many more countries, bioplastics are incinerated just as the bulk of our waste.
