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IAEA Profile: Dare to Jump — From Environmental Science to Radiation Science and Technology

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Hildegarde Vandenhove researching the effects of ionizing radiation on plants, as Section Head of Biosphere Impact Studies at SCK CEN, Belgium, 2005. (Photo: J. Wannijn/SCK CEN)

The IAEA profiles employees to provide insight into the variety of career paths that support the Agency’s mission of Atoms for Peace and Development and to inspire and encourage readers, particularly women, to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or STEM-adjacent fields. Read more profiles of women at the IAEA.  

“Dare to jump,” is Hildegarde Vandenhove’s advice to all young professionals. It’s a motto she says helped her throughout her career, which led her to her current position as Director of the IAEA Division of Radiation Safety, Transport and Waste Safety.  

Early inspirations

Vandenhove’s early studies were strongly influenced by her childhood setting, growing up on a farm in Julémont, southern Belgium. This, combined with her natural love for science, her godfather's experiences in international development projects, and her father’s guidance to “find joy” in her work, led her into agricultural engineering.  

Specifically, Vandenhove focused on soil science and phytotechnics, the use of plant systems to improve the environment. At university in Leuven (KU Leuven) she earned an engineering degree in 1988 and then signed up for her PhD in Agricultural Engineering.  

Her internal drive also resulted in obtaining a Fellowship in Environmental Science and Engineering at the University of British Columbia, after which Vandenhove was back in Belgium, looking for jobs.  She says she created the opportunities that came next by “picking up the phone and asking”.  

One of those calls was to the “brilliant” late Professor Adrien Cremers, whom Vandenhove said was the person who introduced her to the nuclear field. Together, they proposed a research project to the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) on soil–plant transfer of radiocaesium, against the background of the 1986 Chornobyl accident. At the same time, Roel Merckx, professor emeritus of soil science at KU Leuven asked Vandenhove to coordinate a project on use of rock phosphate as fertilizer for rice in Sri Lanka — she took on both projects. “A daunting task she was eager to embrace,” Merckx said.  

Reaching Sri Lanka in 1993, Vandenhove was confronted with an unexpected challenge: “I didn't know anything about rice, I didn't know anything the science of phosphorous, I didn't know anything about working in Sri Lanka and on my second day my local counterpart said, ‘I’m leaving’.” Vandenhove found herself leading a team of 20 people on her own, setting up rice cultivation trials with different fertilizer regimes in different regions in Sri Lanka. She describes this period as one of “steady learning” to understand the system in which to execute the project and to design a path forward towards project realization, with a team who “thrived in the process”.  

In 1994, Vandenhove returned to Belgium, to join SCK CEN, where she began the next stage of her career by patenting a new method for the fixation of trace amounts of radiocaesium — a discovery that she says could have been easily missed had she not revisted and thoroughly explored the data. “The backing of the SCK CEN Director General contributed to me fulfilling my potential,” says Vandenhove. 

Over the next 28 years at SCK CEN, Vandenhove helped pave the way for women — as the first woman in higher managerial roles, including as Head of the Biosphere Impact Studies Unit, and then as Deputy Director of the Environment, Health and Safety Institute and then as SCK CEN Institute Director, for an eight year period. She led over 270 staff on projects related to radiation protection, waste and disposal, and decommissioning. Former colleague and SCK CEN Institute Director Frank Hardeman speaks of Vandenhove as a “visionary”. 

Vandenhove echoes the hard work involved as well as a willingness to “evolve as a scientist” in becoming a project coordinator and leader, which has led to some of the experiences she says she values the most: human connection across cultures. 

Hildegarde Vandenhove (far right) taking a lunch break with the Fukushima Prefecture resurrection team during a scholarship with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 2013. (Photo: S. Uematsu/University of Tsukuba)

“Women belong everywhere”

During her career, Vandenhove was also the only woman and chair of the 33-strong European Radioecology Alliance, dealing with strategy, human resources and budget. In this position, she aimed to  unite and strengthen the different radiation protection bodies in Europe into one consortium, MEENAS, and was also elected its first chair. Did the gender imbalance inhibit her at along the way? She does not feel it did. “I have a strong conviction that everyone is equally valid,” she said. 

Today, Vandenhove is the second woman Director of the IAEA Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, leading a team of over 100 staff and experts to develop IAEA safety standards and support their implementation in member countries, for the radiation protect of people, workers, patients and the environment.  

Hildegarde Vandenhove (fourth from left), Lydie Evrard (third from left) IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security and colleagues open the International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning, Environmental Protection and Remediation, November 2023. (Photo: C. Villarreal Silva/IAEA)

Vandenhove does not consider herself a career woman, driven instead by “curiosity”, questioning the status quo, and intentionally building bridges to work collaboratively rather than in silos while, at times, “surprised by serendipity”. 

Vandenhove believes that “women belong everywhere”, that women are not alone in the journey and should look for good mentors along a path that won’t always be smooth, but they should not “give up”. 

When asked what she would say to her younger self, she is reminded of the people on her journey who had faith in her, and answers, “as I would say to all young professionals, have confidence in yourself and look for supportive people with whom you can make achievements together.” 

The IAEA’s commitment to gender equality

The IAEA is committed to gender equality and to supporting the ability of all individuals, regardless of gender, to equally contribute to and benefit from its programmes and activities. To this end, the IAEA strives to achieve gender balance in the Secretariat and to implement gender mainstreaming in its programmes and activities. 

Additionally, in 2020, the IAEA launched the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP) to support the next generation of women nuclear professionals by offering scholarships for master’s degree in nuclear-related fields. A new IAEA initiative launched in March 2023, the Lise Meitner Programme, offers early- and mid-career women multiweek training visits to nuclear facilities. 

Read more about the IAEA’s work on gender equality, and apply for vacancies, internships or pipelines

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