Cees van Westen

'When choosing a direction for study became more pressing, I discovered an interest in archaeology. Unfortunately working in this field turned out to be far from lucrative in those days. Earth science also sounded interesting, but I didn't see myself studying rocks all my life. Growing up in Zeeland¹ had given me an almost natural fascination for natural disasters. Another field that interested me was historical geography – seeing how the landscape develops over time under the influence of natural and human processes. All of the above led to me eventually choosing physical geography. It's a field that is all about the interaction between natural processes and human activity, and that is something that fascinates me."

¹ In 1953 the province of Zeeland was notoriously struck by a disastrous flood that killed nearly 2,000.

'When I studied Physical Geography at the University of Amsterdam, what I liked a lot was how nice and compact it all was, with about 20 students per year and a great deal of personal contact. I was also enthusiastic about the frequent field work that was part of the study – and I developed a passion to study landscapes: how they originated and which hazardous processes shape them. In the course of my studies I developed an interest in mountain areas. I did a lot of work in Austria, where another student and I spent a total of nine months making detailed geomorphological maps of half a province. The maps we made were actually published and used for different purposes, including reducing natural disasters. Through my supervisor I came in contact with people from ITC who were active in the same field of research in developing countries. After graduation I was given the opportunity to start a PhD at ITC. ITC turned out to provide a fantastic working environment, very international, with lots of field work all over the world. Before I knew it, I was given an assignment all by myself in Colombia, even though initially I didn't speak a word of Spanish. Luckily I was able to learn the language in a few intensive months!'

'An important component of my work concerns capacity building in developing countries. The direct transfer of newly acquired knowledge to people in developing countries is an aspect of working at ITC that I have greatly appreciated from day one. To me, contributing to the well-being of people in less fortunate countries by training them to determine their own agenda is the most powerful motivator in my work. Many of my own students have attained top-level positions in their countries of origin, where they can actively contribute to risk reduction. Having that kind of positive impact is really rewarding, all the more so now that the traditional concept of capacity building is being replaced by more productive forms of true collaboration in which we, in turn, can learn a lot from our partners abroad.'

'My PhD thesis was on landslides and how to predict where they may occur. This later widened to all kinds of hazardous natural processes that can cause damage and the estimation of their risk. For instance, an earthquake causes ground shaking that in turn triggers landslides in mountain areas, which may dam rivers, and ultimately result in catastrophic dam break floods. The complicated interactions between those processes and how to take them into account when making risk assessments are my primary research challenges. Understanding risk is the very core of disaster management.'

'I have been an applied scientist throughout my career. Being a full professor wasn't always high on my list of priorities. In my contacts with foreign partners it was never an issue either, to be honest. Having said that, internally, in the context of the faculty and university, there came a time when I decided that it would be nice to have that status. Being a professor means having a position to further initiate and stimulate research collaboration. It also means more opportunities to be present in committees within and outside the University  without having to depend on others. Mind you, before becoming a professor I already supervised some 20 doctoral candidates. The only difference was that I never got to be their actual promotor.'

How did your appointment come about?

'A few years ago I was judged qualified for professorship by an advisory appointment committee. At that point the head of my department decided to initiate a special trajectory for me to become a professor. In that sense you could say that mine is a personal professorship based on track record and merits. I was never interested in entering a tenure track, if only because at my age I would have felt uncomfortable having to demonstrate my qualifications before a selection committee in order to access subsequent stages. As I had already met the general criteria, all it took for me was to present a resume and a research plan. For a while there it seemed that COVID would throw a spanner in the works, but then the news came through that my professorship had been granted retroactively as per 1 March 2020, even before the University officially closed because of the COVID lockdown.'

'First of all, being a professor was not the most important goal in life, but reaching the position is very rewarding. I don't feel that being a professor has changed my life all that much. To me it's more like some sort of recognition, not a dramatic gamechanger that I had always been looking for. The things I do now don't differ much from what I used to do. My research plan is a logical follow-up to the research I was already doing. My ultimate goal as a scientist is to produce practical tools for estimating multi-hazard risk as a basis for risk mitigation that can be used in developing countries and have a distinct positive impact there. Much of my research is geared towards developing solutions for local hazard and risk assessment, primarily as a means to protect more people from vulnerable situations. As a Christian, this is in line with my motivation to contribute to a better world for everyone. My contribution may be less direct than that of healthcare workers fighting COVID, but there is a distinct and demonstrable positive impact that makes it more than worthwhile."