KNAW Faces of Science: Kirsten van den Bosch reveals what life as a young researcher is like

At the initiative of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and The Young Academy, fifteen young researchers post films, blogs, articles and the like to give an impression of their lives and a peek behind the scenes of academia. Kirsten van den Bosch, who is researching artificial intelligence at the University of Groningen, is one of the selected ‘Faces of Science’. The initiative, which is intended to help school-leavers choose a degree programme, shines the spotlight on young researchers and shows what their lives entail.

On Faces of Science, young researchers carrying out PhD research talk about their lives, their research and their passions. They show the ins and outs of working as a researcher and how they go about their day-to-­day tasks. The profile of behavioural scientist Van den Bosch, including a video and her first blog, is now online.

The effect of sound

Van den Bosch is researching the effect of sound on the brain. We hear sounds twenty-four hours a day, but what impact does this ‘sound environment’ have on various groups of people, such as people with mental or visual impairments?