CSE is proud to report that Ruben Visser, a former intern from the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft), has joined international marine contractor, Van Oord as a Technical Trainee. The Dutch company, based in Rotterdam, Netherlands is the world-largest dredger with 150 years experience in dredging, marine engineering, and offshore energy projects.
CSE had the pleasure of sponsoring Ruben for a 12-month internship from March 2017 – March 2018 to work with the team’s scientists and engineers on projects including Edisto Beach (SC) and Nags Head (NC). These projects provided firsthand experience with the company’s methodology for beach nourishment design and a deeper understanding of the evolution and equilibration of beach nourishment. Ruben’s research and training at CSE are highlighted in his master’s thesis, Optimizing Shoreface Nourishment Design Using The Concept Of Equilibrium Beach Profiles: A Case Study In Nags Head.
“Looking back on the job search, I realize how incredibly lucky I’ve been to work at CSE,” Ruben states. “The opportunity I had to work closely with construction teams and combine my training with a lot of field work and diving experience was seen as a big advantage in job interviews. I can’t thank the CSE team enough for helping me gain these experiences.”
Ruben’s search resulted in a few job offers to choose from, but he ultimately felt Van Oord was the best fit. “The opportunity to work with Van Oord allows me to travel the world to design coastal solutions. After the traineeship, I’ll work as an in-house consultant and make all pre-project calculations. I’m very excited!”
CSE founder and president, Timothy Kana, mentored Ruben and served on his master’s thesis committee with Dr. Stefan Aarninkhof, Dr. Ad Reniers, Dr. Matthieu de Schipper, and Dr. D.J.R. Walstra. “TU Delft is the gold standard in our profession of coastal engineering and Ruben’s internship with us was a great chance to apply Dutch models in our projects – including Nags Head (NC) and Debidue Beach (SC). We introduced Ruben to our methods, and he quickly became a full member of the CSE family.”
