Two VUBers join Jonge Academie

The Jonge Academie (Young Academy) is inaugurating 11 new members today. Two VUB students are among them: biologist Tom Van der Stocken and engineering physicist Jeroen Van Schependom.

Tom Van der Stocken (VUB, NASA-Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory) studies the global ecology and biogeography of tropical coastal ecosystems. Through multidisciplinary and multi-method projects, he investigates how mangrove forests are globally connected through the oceans, how these forests shift spatially in a changing climate, and how much they contribute to the global carbon cycle. He contributes to several NASA projects and has mapped coastal systems for the NASA SWOT mission.

Jeroen Van Schependom (VUB) investigates how structural and functional brain imaging can contribute to better follow-up of people with neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. He is also investigating whether new non-invasive methods of brain stimulation can help to slow down these illnesses.

Jonge Academie

The Jonge Academie is an interdisciplinary and interuniversity meeting place for top young researchers and artists with their own views on science, society, art and policy. Through sharing opinions and events on current topics, it aims to contribute to the public perception of science and to the debate on science policy, specifically from the perspective of the young academic and artist.