Dr. Jaap Schellekens joins VanderSat as head of water management.

July 3, 2017

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eading hydrology and hydrological modelling scientist Dr. Jaap Schellekens will join VanderSat to head VanderSat’s rapidly growing water management department. Schellekens came from Deltares where he was leading projects and research related to hydrological modelling, watershed management and flood forecasting,

We asked Jaap for some background on his decision to join VanderSat.

So, what relationship do you see between Remote Sensing and water resources and management?
“On the surface it seems like a match made in heaven. However, remote sensing products have long been underused. So much even that the World Bank (who spends $7.5 billion on water project each year) publicly stated that although there is great potential for space-based Earth observation, these data products are currently underused.”

Meet Dr. Jaap Schellkens

Check his Linkedin profile or Google Scholar.

Dr. Jaap Schellekens
Director of Water & Climatejschellekens@vandersat.com

What can a scientist like yourself achieve with VanderSat (e.g. high resolution soil moisture)
“This is information that can be used not only in water resources studies but also in operational management of water systems and (flood) forecasting. It gives direct insight in the soil, the most elusive part of the hydrological cycle, and this is some truly exciting stuff, paving the road for applications that were not possible before.”

Anything you would like to share with the world?
“I am really excited to be part of this team and make products that can really make a difference in the way we deal with water and how we grow our food.”

Vandersat has seen a rapid rise in the use of it’s proprietary remote sensing data. VanderSat has focused it’s commercial activities on soil moisture data and is about to release the same resolution data for Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Optical Depth, creating even more positive impact in our main business lines. Re-Insurance, Agriculture and Water management.

We are extremely happy that Jaap will head our water management initiatives.

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