Jeroen Aerts

Prof. Jeroen Aerts is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, leading the 'Water and Climate Risk' department at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). He holds chairs in Risk and Insurance (2007) and Risk and Water Management (2012). His work focuses on flood risk modeling, socio-economic adaptation strategies, and climate change impacts. Aerts has pioneered global-scale agent-based modeling to study human-water interactions and has supervised 42 PhD students and 14 academic staff.

Education:

• PhD (2002): Spatial Optimization Techniques and Decision Support Systems, UvA University of Amsterdam
• MSc (1992): Physical Geography, UvA University of Amsterdam

Research Interests:

• Quantitative flood risk assessment combining hydrological and socio-economic models
• Climate adaptation pathways and optimization
• Agent-based modeling of household and business adaptation behaviors
• Global-scale flood risk reduction strategies

Key Achievements:

• ERC Advanced Grant (€2.5M, 2021) for human-water interaction modeling
• Co-initiated major Dutch climate adaptation programs (Klimaat voor Ruimte, Knowledge for Climate)
• Scientific advisor to NYC Mayor Bloomberg on flood resilience post-Hurricane Sandy

Awards:

• AGU Gilbert White Award (2019)
• Humboldt Research Award (2021)
• Lloyds Science of Risk Prize (2014)

Grants & Projects:

• EU ENHANCE project on natural hazards
• Coordinated Connecting Delta Cities initiative under C40 Cities Network
• PI of Palmawat and CoastMove ERC projects

Labs/Teams: Leads a multidisciplinary research group with 14 staff, 42 PhD students, and 8 post-docs addressing water and climate risks globally.