About Rick

Rick’s Activities

As Executive Director at the Water Footprint Network (WFN), Rick works with his team to promote research, education and knowledge development related to the water footprint concept. They develop practical tools and solutions to assess and reduce water footprints. By raising awareness, WFN helps shape policy and connect businesses, governments and NGO’s in their quest to a more efficient, sustainable and fair use of water.

As a Assistant Professor in Water Resources Management at the University of Twente (UT) , Rick tries to further the scientific knowledge on global water consumption in relation to scarcity. Although he will take on any pressing water topic there is, his particular focus is on modeling humanity’s water use on high spatiotemporal resolution. Some of his main subjects include exploring response options such as cap setting per river basin or formulating water footprint benchmarks for crop production.

As Program Manager at the Wetskills Foundation, Rick leads and (co-)organizes inter-cultural learning and networking events in various countries around the world. During these two-week pressure cooker Wetskills Water Challenges, students and young professionals with a passion for water, work in mixed, inter-disciplinary teams. Together, they provide out-of-the-box solutions to real-life study cases, which are provided by the water sector. At the end of the Challenge, the teams present the results with a pitch and poster during a high-level event.