Cynthia is a PhD candidate at ISRIC and Wageningen University, where she works under the supervision of Dr Ir. Gerard Heuvelink (promotor), Dr Ir. Titia Mulder (co-promotor) and Ir. Niels Batjes on the development and use of a soil information system for imperfect soil data. This research project aims to (1) design and implement a database for uncertain soil data, (2) analyse how quantitative uncertainty information can be included in digital soil mapping, and (3) analyse how digital soil mapping results differ from a case in which uncertainty in soil observations is ignored.

Cynthia has an MSc in Earth Sciences from the University of Amsterdam, following the research track Geo-Ecological Dynamics. Her MSc thesis was done in collaboration with the University of Basel, where she looked into the physical properties of wind erosion, i.e. the threshold friction velocity for PM10 dust emission while comparing two instruments: a traditional straight-line wind tunnel and a new device, the Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab (PI-SWERL).

Cynthia has experience as a teacher’s assistant for various bachelor courses in physics, modelling and programming and as an administrative help during the accreditation procedure of an academic program. Before her PhD, she published work on implementing soil conservation policies targeting land abandonment and soil erosion in Spain.