André Korsloot, Ph.D, a retired technical engineer, completed his study of advanced technology in 1960 and received his degree in engineering (B.Sc.). He worked for 15 years as a design and process engineer in engineering offices, and for 17 years in process technical and managerial functions in oil refining. After his retirement, Dr. Korsloot studied Environmental Sciences and received his M.Sc.
from The Dutch Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands, in 1997. In 2002 he obtained his Ph.D. from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. At present, he is affiliated with the Department of Animal Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science, of the Vrije Universiteit. Cornelis A.M. van Gestel, Ph.
D., is Associate Professor of Ecotoxicology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Dr. van Gestel received his M.Sc. (cum laude) in Environmental Sciences from the Agricultural University, Wageningen, the Netherlands, in 1981. From 1981 to 1986, Dr. van Gestel worked as a scientific advisor on the ecotoxicological risk assessment of pesticides at the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection in Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
In 1986, he became head of the Department of Soil Ecotoxicology of the same institute. He obtained his Ph.D. from Utrecht University in 1991. Since 1992, he has been affiliated with the Department of Animal Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science, of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Dr. van Gestel''s major research interests are the toxicity and bioaccumulation of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil invertebrates (Collembola, earthworms, isopods) in relation to routes of uptake and bioavailability in soil, and the effects at different levels of biological organization (biochemical, individual, population, community). He is also interested in issues of risk assessment and the use of bioassays to determine the actual ecological risk of contaminated land.
Dr. van Gestel is a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and the Netherlands Society of Toxicology. He is registered as a toxicologist by the Netherlands Society of Toxicology and the European Society of Toxicology (EUROTOX). Dr. van Gestel is author or co-author of more than 100 papers and book chapters. He has been a member of several national committees of the Netherlands Health Council advising on ecotoxicological issues. He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Ecotoxicology , Environmental Pollution, and Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry . Nico M.
van Straalen, Ph.D., is Professor of Animal Ecology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and Director of the SENSE Research School for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment, a joint venture of eight Dutch universities. Dr. van Straalen received his M.Sc. in 1979 and his Ph.D.
in 1983 from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He was a Lecturer in Ecology (1982-1988) and then Associate Professor of Ecotoxicology at the Department of Animal Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, before he obtained a full professorship in Animal Ecology in the same department in 1992. Dr. van Straalen developed a research program on ecotoxicology of soil invertebrates, focusing on toxicity, kinetics, mode of action, and adaptation of heavy metals and PAH for soil invertebrates (springtails, isopods, oribatids). Currently, his major reseach interest is the evolution of metal tolerance, including the application of molecular-genetic tools to unravel tolerance mechanisms in soil arthropods. He is also interested in issues of ecotoxicological risk assessment. Dr. van Straalen is a member of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), the Netherlands Society of Toxicology, the Netherlands- Flemish Society of Ecology, the Netherlands Society of Entomology, and the British Ecological Society.
He was a member of the SETAC-Europe Council (1988-1992) and chair of the SETAC-Europe Education Committee (1990-1996). He chaired the scientific committee for SETAC-Europe annual meetings in Sheffield (1991) and Amsterdam (1997), and was an invited lecturer for several international advanced courses on Ecotoxicology and Soil Ecology. Dr. van Straalen is registered as a toxicologist by the Netherlands Society of Toxicology and the European Society of Toxicology (EUROTOX). He received the ABC Laboratories/SETAC-Europe Environmental Education Award in 1998. Dr. van Straalen is author or co-author of more than 150 papers, books, and book chapters. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Pedobiologia and Applied Soil Ecology .
Dr. van Straalen has served on various national committees of the Netherlands Health Council, the Netherlands Integrated Soil Research Programme, and the Advisory Board of the Dutch Research Programme on in situ Sanitation of Soils (NOBIS).