Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.
Albert Einstein
Nice to meet you!
Hi!
My name is Paul and I have a bit of an idiosyncratic background, being Dutch-American-Chinese.
Confused? Let me explain.
My dad’s side of the family are Catholics from the South of the Netherlands. My mom’s parents fled China in the 40’s and were forced to start again in the United States.
My parents met in Washington DC and moved to the Netherlands, where I was born. Ethnically I am Dutch-Chinese, and legally I have American and Dutch nationalities. I eventually moved back to China for studies, completing the family circuit around the world!
What are my interests?
The red line throughout my career is the way in which advanced technologies drive global affairs.
I’ve always been fascinated with complexity and had the good fortune to be able to pursue my interests professionally and academically.
Specifically I’ve spent a lot of time studying the energy transition, quantum computing, semiconductors, cyber, and artificial intelligence.
Any technology that is likely to fundamentally shake up the world is fascinating to me!
What is my background?
I started off my career in theoretical physics and philosophy at Amsterdam University College, where I wrote my Bachelor’s thesis on the scientific status of string theory.
After finishing my undergraduate I spent time studying Chinese Language and Philosophy in Beijing.
When I returned to Europe I pursued a Master’s degree in Energy Policy & Sustainability at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. My Msc thesis concerned text mining and measuring ideological fragmentation within the energy regime-complex
My first real job was as a Strategic Analyst & Data Scientist at a geopolitical think tank, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.
When the pandemic hit I decided to return to academia to pursue a second Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Amsterdam.
For my next chapter I am looking to work on closing the gap between abstract technologies & algorithms and how they impact the real world…