Waag Futurelab is pleased to announce the appointment of Judith Veenkamp as Research Director.
Judith Veenkamp has been part of Waag since 2017. Over that time she led the Smart Citizens & Urban Ecology Lab, shaped Waag’s approach to interdisciplinary research practice, and played a central role in developing the current Research Agenda. In her new role, she brings Waag’s research together under unified leadership, ensuring greater coherence across methods and themes and a clearer collective identity for the research team.
“Waag’s research is strongest when people work across boundaries, between disciplines, between methods, between themes. This role is about making that the norm and amplifying the impact of our research. The questions we are working on — how technology can serve people and planet rather than undermine them — are more urgent than ever. I am looking forward to leading a team that is highly committed to this.” — Judith Veenkamp, Research Director
She has a strong vision regarding the relationship between technology and climate and advocates for resilience and regenerative technology. Trained as a political scientist, she came to technology through questions of justice and representation, and she has extended that frame to the more-than-human — to what technological systems do to ecosystems as well as to citizens. In the research, design and development of regenerative technology, she and the research team harness the power of artistic practices and social initiatives that prioritise planetary boundaries.
“Judith’s appointment is something I have been building toward for a long time,” said Marleen Stikker, director of Waag. “She knows this organisation, she knows its research, and she knows its people. There is nobody better placed to lead Waag’s research into its next phase.”
In this new role, Judith also joins the Management Team of Waag.
