Board

Ton Marée has been Research Manager of TNO’s Space Systems Engineering research group since 2011. His group is developing opto-mechanical instruments for Earth observation and space missions, such as TROPOMI, Sentinel 5, GAIA, and equipment for laser communication. Ton was appointed as chairman of the NVR on 5 October 2020

Peter worked in the Japanese aerospace industry, specialising in particular in Global Navigation Satellite Systems, for years after completing his aerospace master course at TU Delft. After his return to the Netherlands, he worked at TU Delft before joining the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR). Recent projects of Peter are satellite formation flights and experimenting with a platform that launches micro-gravity experiments from a high altitude balloon

After his studies Peter started at Airbus D & S in Bremen, as a member of the Columbus Engineering Support Team ( COLEST ) working for the ISS. Among other things he contributed to the PromISSe mission of André Kuipers. Since 2014, Peter returned to the Netherlands, at first on ‘mission’ from Airbus D & S Bremen, and more recently as a consultant at ADSE . Peter is active in the NVR as a member of the editorial board and the event committee since 2011.

Chris is Associate Professor at TU Delft in both the Faculty EW&I as well as L&R, implementing modern IC and MEMS technologies in space. He was researcher and projectleader for the first Dutch nano-satellite project Delfi-C3 and continues now promoting the performance and outreach of small satellites via new projects, like Delfi-n3Xt, OLFAR, Data-Collecting Colonies and e-Moth.

After his Communication studies, Frits started working at a start-up to put his specialization Brand Management into practice. Today he works in the advertising world. Frits has been part of the NVR’s social media team since 2018. There, he provides the content for our social media channels together with others. In addition, he is committed to various projects to get young people enthusiastic about space travel.

Stijn has been passionate about space travel all his life, long before his studies in AE at TU Delft. The choice for the Space Exploration master program came as no surprise. After several international internships at the University of British Columbia, Airbus Defense & Space Toulouse and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he is back in the Netherlands. In 2018 he started at Airbus Defense & Space Netherlands as the company’s first trainee. In his current position as Optical Communications Engineer, he focuses on the development and industrialization of advanced communication technologies between ground stations and satellites.

Nicoletta graduated at the TUDelft in Aerospace Engineering in 2010 and
started working right away at Bradford Space BV designing and building space components for liquid propulsions on satellites. Few years later she moved to Aerospace Propulsion Products BV (APP)
where she worked as System Engineer for the VINCI engine for the Ariane 5ME, now evolved into Ariane 6. In the last years at APP Nicoletta developed her carreer into project management. The AFX project she has been leading consisted in making the space technology available at APP for
the rocket’s igniters suitable for applications into the civil industry, and in particular for custom designed fire extinguishers. Since the end of 2019 Nicoletta is working as Project Manager in
the Space Engineering group at TNO in Delft which is developing opto-mechanical instruments for Earth observation and space Missions. Nicoletta is active member of NVR as of 2015 and member of the Event commissie since then.

Pieter van Beekhuizen has worked his whole professional life since 1972 in the space domain, first with ESRO and as from 1975 with ESA, and has occupied during this period a large number of different functions and management responsibilities within ESA.

His last assignment was Head of ESA Industrial Cost Auditing and Return Division which has included industrial costs audits and the provision of the industrial return data to ESA Member States. In this capacity he was involved in multiple programme reviews and chaired various Management and Cost panels for  large ESA programme procurements.

During the last years at ESA he was also involved in the European initiatives for space commercialisation opportunities/projects.

Following his retirement from ESA  he started a consultancy company (Bexperience) providing consultancy and support services for various clients.

He is as treasurer a Board member of SSPF, a foundation set-up to financially support young professionals and/or students in the Dutch space sector to apply for space studies programs.

In 2021 he was elected vice-chair of the IAF Committee for Liaison International Organisations and Developing Nations ( CLIODN).