Peter van Thienen PhD

Peter van Thienen is principal scientist in the Hydroinformatics team. From his background as a quantitative scientist, Peter, together with a number of colleagues, approaches drinking water systems from a quantitative and modeling point of view, in the role of initiator, lead researcher, and/or quality assurance. Peter has initiated or played an important role in the development of several tools and methods, such as the (m)CFPD method for identification and quantification of leakage, numerical optimization of the design of sensor and pipe networks (Contamination Source Toolkit and Gondwana), an inspection robot for drinking water pipes (Ariel, continued in the AIR project), and probabilistic simulation of drinking water networks (PHS/VlinderNET). Considerable attention is given to uncertainties and how best to deal with them, from probabilistic simulations to methods for decision making under deep uncertainty. Peter’s recent work additionally focuses on avoiding the continuity bias by considering high-impact scenarios the likelihood of which is difficult to assess (such as activation of climate tipping points or societal collapse) and the action perspective for the water sector.
Furthermore, Peter is coordinator of the Hydroinformatics research theme in the Waterwijs program. This develops digital techniques for and applies them in a water context,also considering the balance between costs and benefits of technologies in a broad sense.