Dr. Geert Potters

Geert Potters is part of the corrosion team at the Antwerp Maritime Academy and is also Head of Research for the entire institution. Originally trained as a plant physiologist rather than a maritime scientist, he obtained a PhD in antioxidants and plant growth and went on to conduct research into the use of bamboo in a sustainable green economy. However, as a proud resident of Europe's second largest port, he found his way into the maritime sector, helped set up the corrosion team in 2007, co-authored a considerable number of publications on the subject and mentored two theses in Nautical Sciences at the Academy. He is currently looking for connections between biology (micro-organisms) and the shipping world, and trying to get future captains involved and enthusiastic about sustainable development and a greener world. He writes for a popular science blog, podcasts, sings (but not in the lab) and likes to confuse honest sailors with words such as “multivariate statistics”, “environmental metagenomics” and “impact factor”.