Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Campus

‘It’s crazy how abundant plastic is now’

Uncertain about what the future holds after graduation, Marlein Geraeds has one thing clear. Whatever she does will involve her passion for research and sustainability.

“I did my bachelor’s in civil engineering, then I took one year to see what mathematics was all about.  Now I’m back at the Faculty of Civil Engineering doing a master’s in Hydraulic Engineering and my specialisation is in environmental fluid mechanics. I did an internship and then I started my master’s thesis last year. I hope to finish before the summer so I can start thinking about what I want to do after that.


My internship was with The Ocean Cleanup. I really liked their values, that they want to want to take action to protect the marine environment by cleaning up everybody else’s mess. It’s crazy how abundant plastic is now and we don’t even see it as something that shouldn’t be there. It’s just always there. So, I saw a job opening on their website as a River Research Intern, got invited for an interview, told them what I can do and what I value and asked if there was something I could do for them.

They said yes, they had a project for me about finding a more effective way to monitor the amount of plastic that floats in rivers. At that time, they were using manual counts from bridges. They gave me some artistic freedom and it came to mind that it would probably be easier to monitor the plastic from the sky or with drones. I mentioned the idea and they said it was exactly what they were thinking about as well. I was very happy about the work I did there and that I was even able to publish a paper about it.


‘I chose a very different project just to experience what’s out there’


For my master’s project I’m working with the Port of Rotterdam and looking at the Rotterdam Waterway. They’re currently doing a project in which they are depositing dredged sediments from the harbour basins in the Rotterdam Waterway instead of directly depositing it in the North Sea. They want to see if this method could reduce dredging costs and CO2 emittance by letting the natural system take care of part of the sediment. I have to find out whether the hydrodynamics allow for such a thing and whether our models can predict things like that. It’s very different from my internship project but it’s also around the topic of sustainability and involves research.


I specifically chose a very different project just to experience what’s out there. I’m still uncertain about what I’ll do when I graduate. Sustainability is still high on the agenda for me and I’m leaning more towards going into research. That might mean doing a PhD or working with a company in research and development. I really enjoy research and scientific writing, but maybe I will take some time to think about it and decide the direction I will take.”


Who are the people who work and study on campus? We meet them in Humans of TU Delft.

Do you want to be featured in this series? Or do you know someone with a good story to tell? Send us an e-mail at 
humansoftudelft@gmail.com  


Heather Montague / Freelance writer

Editor Redactie

Do you have a question or comment about this article?

delta@tudelft.nl

Comments are closed.