Bert Jagers

Background

About Bert Jagers

I am interested in helping people to understand the environment and make effective, sustainable decisions. I approach this challenge from two sides: build on what we know, but respect that what we don't or can't know. Coming from an applied mathematics and physics background, I focus on the development of numerical simulation models that are suitable for a wide range of applications: from rivers and urban settings to coastal and offshore use, from global trends to local impact, from geological time scales to rapid events such as flash floods. My domain expertise focuses on sediment transport and morphology, but always in the interaction with currents, waves, winds, and biochemistry. Except for the basic laws of physics (such as the conservation of total water mass) what we know or don't know depends on the scale and context of the question raised: involving local expertise and relevant domain specialists is important for a proper assessment. At Deltares we work together with an international group of researchers on a unique set of open source tools which can be used for research (to better understand a system, or to extend our knowledge of certain processes), consultancy (to evaluate scenarios and planned changes) and operational (as a digital twin to monitor the state of natural system). We are always open for collaboration to address challenging questions. I'm currently living in Cairo, Egypt, but I'm employed by Deltares in Delft working on software development and projects around the world (but outside Egypt).