About Me

I was born on December 14, 1977 in the city of Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, a province in the northern part of the Netherlands. Enjoyed my childhood, went to grammar school and high school and then moved to Enschede, to study Computer Science at the University of Twente.

During my studies, but also during my Ph.D. period I was heavily involved in the cultural life at the University and beyond. I sang at several choirs and co-founded the piano club Utopiano. With these clubs, but also solo and with several other musicians, I regularly performed in and outside the region.

My Ph.D. research at the University was dedicated to the field of adaptive hypermedia. In particular, I conducted a long-term study on Web usage behavior, in cooperation with three Ph.D. students from Hamburg University. This all resulted in my thesis 'Forward, Back and Home Again - Analyzing User Behavior on the Web', which has recently been published by VDM Verlag.

Early 2006 I moved to Germany, where I was offered a postdoc position at the L3S Research Center in Hannover. This job still brings me new experiences, in particular on how larger European project work. The position offers me the possibility to further develop my skills and to meet new people. Apart from the excitement of the job, I feel particularly at home in Germany. In my successful attempts to continue my cultural activities, I met an opera tenor, Kristof Schliep. Our initial professional relationship quickly turned into a real relation. Currently, we live happily together in Hildesheim, a city close to Hannover.

This last paragraph is currently unfinished. Who knows where life leads next to?