TML'ers have their say! #7
In this section we would like to introduce you to our colleagues at TML. That way you get to know us a little better and discover what everyone at TML does. Recently we had a conversation with Ruben, Rodric, and Evelyn!
Hi everyone, and thank you for taking the time. Tell us, how did you end up at TML?
Ruben: I had just finished my PhD in traffic engineering at KU Leuven, when I was approached by Griet during a reception about a new European project (High Tool). I already knew TML from the seminars at the time. The fact that they were in Leuven was a big advantage for me. In addition, TML offered a lot of freedom for self-development and independence. That's how I started working for TML at the end of 2012, first part-time alongside a postdoc role at KU Leuven. After a year of combining both jobs, I decided to leave academia and work full-time at TML.
Rodric: After my PhD at KU Leuven, I decided to work for TML. I had already looked around the market a bit, and occasionally came to the seminars that TML organised. It seemed like a great place to work, and people did concrete research. An economic project had just started, which seemed very interesting to me. As a traffic engineer I then trained myself with a course in economics (under the motto: models are models). As a traffic engineer, this means that I now have extra knowledge and can better understand economists and talk with them.
Evelyn: I used to do academic research on climate change, but I was looking for a new job and wanted to focus more on mobility. The TML vacancy that appeared on LinkedIn seemed interesting to me, and I felt that I could certainly contribute something to it.
Through wanderings one eventually arrives at TML, that's nice to hear. And what are your backgrounds?
Ruben/Rodric: We are both civil engineers. We found the subject of traffic engineering especially interesting. There's traffic flow theory in that, and even though it's quite mathematical, it's very close to reality. There's also a human component to it, and that makes it more interesting and challenging. It is a discipline where many directions come together, and you can talk about it with everyone. In our final year, we eventually wrote a thesis together, in which we modelled pedestrian flows in stations. We were then asked to conduct further research at KU Leuven.
Evelyn: I was interested in astronomy from an early age, and then studied it in the Netherlands (Leiden University). After that, my interest in climate and climate change was awakened; it was less abstract and an (also for me) strongly present theme. After that I did a PhD on climate change in Switzerland, a year of postdoctoral research in France, and then I worked at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.
Unbelievable! And very interesting! And what are your daily activities now that you work at TML?
Ruben: I am project leader of the Traffic Light Coordination Center (VLCC). I also support the study for a safer and smoother design of the A12. In addition, more general project coordination within TML has been added in recent years. It is especially the VLCC project that is my favourite. It is very extensive, complex, and presents major challenges. There is a lot of variation, ranging from data analyses, micro simulations, drawing up lighting schemes, to negotiating with the client, and the internal follow-up and management of all tasks. It gives me great satisfaction when everything works out.
Rodric: A lot of my time goes to the VLCC, where I take care of the more challenging stuff. Just think of the coordination of several neighbouring intersections, and that in combination with public transport. That is my specialty, and I develop all kinds of tools that lead to more efficiency and better data analysis for traffic light control. Because traffic light control is anything but band work; they are very big puzzles in which all kinds of contradictory things are asked for. It is an art to harmonise them in one way or another as well as possible. In addition, we are also working on our own traffic models, including the dynamic traffic model of Antwerp, the MOMENTUM project, and the link with Telraam.
Evelyn: I participate in European projects in which sustainable mobility measures are implemented. In doing so, we help to evaluate them, steer them, and measure their impact. I am also involved in a number of smaller projects, including the audit of the bicycle policy in Grez-Doiceau, an analysis of the urban mobility package, and a study on ethics in which we examined whether socially poorer groups are more or less likely to live in areas with cities where there are air quality problems. I am also very aware of deadlines, and have to work efficiently to get everything ready in the allotted time.
It all sounds so fascinating, and very diverse! You play an important role in the life of TML. But tell us, what's going on in your life outside TML?
Ruben: I cycle in my spare time. Until a few years ago, this was quite intense: ten thousand kilometres a year, participation in sporting competitions, a total of about twenty cyclos in the Ardennes, Alps, and the Vosges, cycling 150 to 200 kilometres through the mountains, and even the 12 hours of Zolder cycling. Sometimes I still cycle with friends in a team, but since my two children are here, I mainly cycle for fun. I've wanted to join a cycling club in the area for some time, now "post-corona" has finally come about. I also like to play board games, especially fairly strategic, complex games, which can take about two to three hours.
Rodric: Ah, I love to play board games too! I also like to be involved in all kinds of analyses and thinking about things outside my work. I like soccer, but it's more indoor-like. With TML we played outside weekly, but that has been postponed due to corona. I also enjoy cycling, sometimes with a few TML people, but I don't do it too fervently. It's something very relaxing.
Evelyn: I am an avid cyclist, so I really enjoyed participating in the audit study. I also try to do everything by bike. And now that I've had a daughter, I'm looking for a new balance apart from the work-daughter-sleep pattern.
Thank you for your time. It was really interesting to have this conversation with you!
Hi everyone, and thank you for taking the time. Tell us, how did you end up at TML?
Ruben: I had just finished my PhD in traffic engineering at KU Leuven, when I was approached by Griet during a reception about a new European project (High Tool). I already knew TML from the seminars at the time. The fact that they were in Leuven was a big advantage for me. In addition, TML offered a lot of freedom for self-development and independence. That's how I started working for TML at the end of 2012, first part-time alongside a postdoc role at KU Leuven. After a year of combining both jobs, I decided to leave academia and work full-time at TML.
Rodric: After my PhD at KU Leuven, I decided to work for TML. I had already looked around the market a bit, and occasionally came to the seminars that TML organised. It seemed like a great place to work, and people did concrete research. An economic project had just started, which seemed very interesting to me. As a traffic engineer I then trained myself with a course in economics (under the motto: models are models). As a traffic engineer, this means that I now have extra knowledge and can better understand economists and talk with them.
Evelyn: I used to do academic research on climate change, but I was looking for a new job and wanted to focus more on mobility. The TML vacancy that appeared on LinkedIn seemed interesting to me, and I felt that I could certainly contribute something to it.
Through wanderings one eventually arrives at TML, that's nice to hear. And what are your backgrounds?
Ruben/Rodric: We are both civil engineers. We found the subject of traffic engineering especially interesting. There's traffic flow theory in that, and even though it's quite mathematical, it's very close to reality. There's also a human component to it, and that makes it more interesting and challenging. It is a discipline where many directions come together, and you can talk about it with everyone. In our final year, we eventually wrote a thesis together, in which we modelled pedestrian flows in stations. We were then asked to conduct further research at KU Leuven.
Evelyn: I was interested in astronomy from an early age, and then studied it in the Netherlands (Leiden University). After that, my interest in climate and climate change was awakened; it was less abstract and an (also for me) strongly present theme. After that I did a PhD on climate change in Switzerland, a year of postdoctoral research in France, and then I worked at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.
Unbelievable! And very interesting! And what are your daily activities now that you work at TML?
Ruben: I am project leader of the Traffic Light Coordination Center (VLCC). I also support the study for a safer and smoother design of the A12. In addition, more general project coordination within TML has been added in recent years. It is especially the VLCC project that is my favourite. It is very extensive, complex, and presents major challenges. There is a lot of variation, ranging from data analyses, micro simulations, drawing up lighting schemes, to negotiating with the client, and the internal follow-up and management of all tasks. It gives me great satisfaction when everything works out.
Rodric: A lot of my time goes to the VLCC, where I take care of the more challenging stuff. Just think of the coordination of several neighbouring intersections, and that in combination with public transport. That is my specialty, and I develop all kinds of tools that lead to more efficiency and better data analysis for traffic light control. Because traffic light control is anything but band work; they are very big puzzles in which all kinds of contradictory things are asked for. It is an art to harmonise them in one way or another as well as possible. In addition, we are also working on our own traffic models, including the dynamic traffic model of Antwerp, the MOMENTUM project, and the link with Telraam.
Evelyn: I participate in European projects in which sustainable mobility measures are implemented. In doing so, we help to evaluate them, steer them, and measure their impact. I am also involved in a number of smaller projects, including the audit of the bicycle policy in Grez-Doiceau, an analysis of the urban mobility package, and a study on ethics in which we examined whether socially poorer groups are more or less likely to live in areas with cities where there are air quality problems. I am also very aware of deadlines, and have to work efficiently to get everything ready in the allotted time.
It all sounds so fascinating, and very diverse! You play an important role in the life of TML. But tell us, what's going on in your life outside TML?
Ruben: I cycle in my spare time. Until a few years ago, this was quite intense: ten thousand kilometres a year, participation in sporting competitions, a total of about twenty cyclos in the Ardennes, Alps, and the Vosges, cycling 150 to 200 kilometres through the mountains, and even the 12 hours of Zolder cycling. Sometimes I still cycle with friends in a team, but since my two children are here, I mainly cycle for fun. I've wanted to join a cycling club in the area for some time, now "post-corona" has finally come about. I also like to play board games, especially fairly strategic, complex games, which can take about two to three hours.
Rodric: Ah, I love to play board games too! I also like to be involved in all kinds of analyses and thinking about things outside my work. I like soccer, but it's more indoor-like. With TML we played outside weekly, but that has been postponed due to corona. I also enjoy cycling, sometimes with a few TML people, but I don't do it too fervently. It's something very relaxing.
Evelyn: I am an avid cyclist, so I really enjoyed participating in the audit study. I also try to do everything by bike. And now that I've had a daughter, I'm looking for a new balance apart from the work-daughter-sleep pattern.
Thank you for your time. It was really interesting to have this conversation with you!
