Jan van Kleef retires from ISRIC workshop

After 46 years of working for various institutes and departments in Wageningen, Jan van Kleef retired this month. During the last 6 years of his professional work, Jan worked for Wageningen Environmental Reserach and for the soil reference collections of ISRIC - World Soil Information. Jan prepared soil monoliths, as in the photo above, created high resolution digital images of them, and managed the workshop. He particularly contributed to monolith preparation for the project SOiL EXploration and Sampling for Science and Education (SOLEX).

Above all, Jan had a liking for the development and use of technology. He helped ISRIC to change the monolith preparation process from use of toxic lacquers to the environmentally friendly wood glue. Jan was an accurate worker and quick to deliver. He will be missed as a colleague. In life after work, Jan will not be bored. ‘I have many things to do in and around the house’, he said. ‘And I now have more time for my hobbies, among which are listening to music’.

We thank Jan for his contributions to ISRIC and the collections and we wish him all the best in this well-deserved new phase of life he has now entered.