Chiel van Heerwaarden is one of ten new members (links to Dutch content) to join the Young Academy. This group of talented scientists counts 50 members, each with a 5-year membership. Members must be aged 25-45, have obtained a PhD less than a decade ago and show scientific promise. Aspiring members are subjected to a strict selection process.
Part of the selection process is the writing of an essay detailing the contribution the candidate intends to make to the Young Academy’s work. Van Heerwaarden wants more focus on quality rather than quantity in research. ‘In the current funding system, researchers are assessed far too often on the production volume of publications. It would be nice if we could divert from that approach and pay more attention to quality.’
Quality
The current assessment system is focused on the number of publications, which, according to Van Heerwaarden, negatively impacts quality. ‘It is sometimes better to delve deeper into an issue before publishing about it. We must create an assessment system that benefits science as a whole, rather than a system focused on individual scientists.’
It is sometimes better to delve deeper into an issue before publishing about it
Chiel van Heerwaarden, Meteorology an Air Quality researcher
The new academy member also petitions to include other qualities in assessing researchers. ‘Making software and putting together data sets cost a lot of time which is seldom rewarded. Still, these are valuable activities for science.’ Van Heerwaarden also wants to campaign for better science communication.
Clouds
Van Heerwaarden is the second WUR-researcher to become a member of the Young Academy. Marine Ecologist Lisa Becking joined three years ago. Van Heerwaarden studies the influence of clouds on the yield of solar panels through a combination of field research and computer simulations. He developed the required software himself with the help of WUR-colleagues. Van Heerwaarden was awarded the NWO-vidi grant last year.