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Hello, Universe.

I'm Jurjen de Jong.

PhD candidate Radio Astronomer (Big) Data Scientist

Something about me
Profile

Something about me.

Profile Picture

Profile

Hello there! I am a data scientist and radio astronomer with a background in various fields and industries. Having lived in 5 different countries, I had the chance to learn and work across varied settings and cultural backgrounds. During my path through the educational system, I obtained two bachelor's degrees and two master's degrees and are currently one year away from completing my PhD degree. My work experience varies from developing new data-driven tools and software for commercial companies to smashing around terabytes of data on high-performance supercomputers to learn something about the universe. Don't hesitate to contact me if you want to get in touch.

  • Fullname: Jurjen Michiel Gerrit Hendrik Jan de Jong

    (yes, too many names)
  • Date of birth: 26th of May 1993
  • Nationality: Dutch
  • Based in: Leiden, the Netherlands
  • Job title: Radio astronomer, data scientist
  • Hobbies: Football, yoga, fitness, gaming, travelling
  • Website: jurjen93.github.io
  • Email: jurjongATproton.me

Natural languages

Over time I have picked up (bits of) a few languages in the places where I resited. In my daily life, I communicate in Dutch and English, both at home and in a professional setting. I am currently planning to improve my Swedish and Finnish. Below you can find a list of languages in which I can engage in conversations, along with my self-assessed confidence levels.

  • 100%
    Dutch
  • 95%
    English
  • 35%
    German

Programming languages

During my professional activities, I favor Linux over other operating systems. Below, I listed the main programming languages I utilize daily or have employed in crafting data pipelines and software. The ratings reflect my hands-on experience (hope you trust me on this one). Additional details about my tech stack among other information about me are available in my CV, which you can download below.

  • 95%
    Python
  • 90%
    Bash
  • 70%
    SQL
  • 25%
    Julia
  • 20%
    R
  • 10%
    Rust
Full CV Short CV
Timeline

Resume.

Explore my work experiences and educational background below.

Work Experience

Radio Astronomer

January 2021 - Present

Leiden Observatory

Enhancing VLBI calibration and imaging pipelines for LOFAR to study radio galaxy evolution, while also being teaching assistant for the master course 'Radio Astronomy' and supervisor of several bachelor research projects.

Volunteer

August 2018 - Present

Stamily

Co-founded the non-profit Stamily, fostering a supportive community for people who stutter. As first chair of the board, I took up a leading role in the management of the association. The core of our success is the empowerement of our members, who can pick up leadership roles as well.

Data Scientist

August 2019 - January 2021

Matrixian Group

Developed machine learning pipelines, address validators, and APIs for various clients. See projects below.

Mathematical Astronomer

September 2019 - January 2020

European Space Agency

Researching mathematical laws for the distances between stars. My work resulted in a publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Astrobites also wrote an article about my work my work.

Science writer

August 2017 - January 2020

Scientias

Wrote popular science articles about physics, mathematics, history, computing, and the space industry. You can find my articles here.

Mechanical Engineer

June 2017 - August 2017

EPPM (Tunisia)

Automated calculations for determining the stresses on lifting lugs.

Education

PhD degree

Radio astronomy

2021-Present

Leiden University (the Netherlands)

Researching on how to improve the calibration and imaging data pipeline for LOFAR, while studying radio galaxy evolution.

Summer school

2018-2018

National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan)

Studied Chinese/Taiwanese culture and language with a scholarship from Leuven University.

Advanced Master's degree

Space Studies

2017-2018

Leuven University (Belgium)

Studied many different topic related to the space industry, including space biology, law, technology, science, and more.

Erasmus exchange

2016-2017

Uppsala University (Sweden)

Erasmus+ exchange, where I followed astronomy and physics courses as part of my master's degree in mathematics.

Master's degree

Mathematics

2015-2017

Ghent University (Belgium)

Completed courses about applied/fundamental mathematics, astronomy, theoretical physics, and quantum computing. Thesis was about applying the analytical Fox-H function on the Nuker Model.

Bachelor's degree

Physics

2013-2015

Utrecht University (the Netherlands)

Completed courses about fundamental physics, including quantum mechanics, special relativity, advanced Newtonian mechanics, and more. For my bachelor's thesis project I studied the Ganita-Yukti-Bhasa, originally written in Malayalam/Sanskriet.

Bachelor's degree

Mathematics

2012-2015

Utrecht University (the Netherlands)

During my studies, I focused on both fundamental mathematics and its applications in physics and astronomy. I also included history and philosophy courses, which were part of the minor in history and philosophy of science.

Propadeautics

Mechanical Engineering

2011-2012

Avans Breda (the Netherlands)

Completed the first year of Mechanical Engineering.

Portfolio

Project experience.

Below is a showcase of projects I've either contributed to as a team member or lead myself. It's important to note that I do not claim ownership of the projects developed during my time at Matrixian Group. This compilation is simply intended to highlight the range of projects I've engaged with.

mergingclusters

Deepest sub-arcsecond LOFAR image

Astronomer
mergingclusters

Merging Galaxy Clusters

Astronomer
Gaia

Benford's law in Gaia DR2

Mathematical Astronomer
greenroof

Greenroof project

Data scientist
volksbank

Mortgage Prepayment Prediction

Machine Learning Engineer
addresschecker

Address Checker

Data scientist
avm

Automated Valuation Model

Data scientist / Machine Learning Engineer
Science

Publications & Talks

You will find below my contributions to publications in scientific journals, conferences, and some of the popular science articles and blogs that I have written for websites.

Scientific Publications

Title Authors Journal Year Contribution
Into the Depths: Unveiling ELAIS-N1 with LOFAR's deepest sub-arcsecond wide-field images J.M.G.H.J. de Jong et al. Submitted to A&A TBD Leading
Abell 0399-Abell 0401 radio bridge spectral index: the first multifrequency detection G.V. Pignataro et al. Astronomy & Astrophysics 2024 Deep data at 144 MHz
The Decameter sky at sub-arcminute resolution C. Groeneveld et al. Nature 2024 Software
Cosmic evolution of FRI and FRII sources out to z=2.5 J.M.G.H.J. de Jong et al. Astronomy & Astrophysics 2024 Leading
1-arcsecond imaging strategy for the LoTSS survey using the International LOFAR Telescope Ye et al. Submitted to A&A 2023 Calibration strategy
Deep study of A399-401: Application of a wide-field facet calibration J.M.G.H.J. de Jong et al. Astronomy & Astrophysics 2022 Leading
Benford's law in the Gaia Universe J.M.G.H.J. de Jong et al. Astronomy & Astrophysics 2020 Leading

Conferences

Title Conference Talk/Poster Location Year
Unveiling ELAIS-N1 with LOFAR's deepest sub-arcsecond wide-field images LOFAR Family meeting 2024 Talk Leiden (the Netherlands) 2024
Unveiling ELAIS-N1 with LOFAR's deepest sub-arcsecond wide-field images ATRASC 2024 Talk Gran Canaria (Spain) 2024
Unveiling ELAIS-N1 with LOFAR's deepest sub-arcsecond wide-field images SPARCS Talk Bologna (Italy) 2024
Deep sub-arcsecond calibration and imaging of ELAIS-N1 SALF (Science At Low Frequencies) Talk Amsterdam (the Netherlands) 2023
ELAIS-N1 at sub-arcseconds LOFAR Family Meeting 2023 Poster Olztyn (Poland) 2023
ELAIS-N1 at 1" - Towards sub-arcsecond resolution Deep Field symposium 2023 Talk Online 2023
A deep study of A399-401 SPARCS Talk Johannesburg (South-Africa) 2022
A deep study of A399-401 IAU Talk Busan (South-Korea) 2022

Blogs/Popular science

Title Author(s) Website Year
How to Make a Video from Your (Astronomy) Images Jurjen de Jong Towards Data Science 2021
Benford's law and distances to stars Jurjen de Jong Towards Data Science 2020
Google claimt quantumsuprematie: wat is het en wat brengt het ons? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Hoe het menselijke brein ons inspireerde slimme AI te maken Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
De slimme stad: een utopie of een dystopie? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Kunstmatige intelligentie: heel hip, maar niet per se modern Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Wat is de rol van Japan in de ruimtevaart? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Gaat China de ruimte domineren? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Wordt India een concurrent van de andere grote ruimtevaartlanden? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Nieuwe maanmissie bewijst dat we ruimtevaartland India niet moeten onderschatten Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2019
Galileo: het Europese navigatiesysteem dat GPS van de troon gaat stoten Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
Is de Riemann-hypothese echt opgelost? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
De wet van Benford: bizar en nóg onverklaarbaar Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
George Lemaître: de 'geestelijk' vader van de Big Bang-theorie Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
Draagt kosmische straling bij aan de opwarming van de aarde? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
We gaan op ruimtereis en komen tegen: levensgevaarlijke straling Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
Parker Solar Probe: deze nieuwe ruimtesonde gaat de zon aantikken Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
Zeilen op fotonen en de zonnewind: hoe werkt dat en wat brengt het ons? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
Hoe gaat de quantumcomputer jouw leven veranderen? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
Klaar voor een revolutie? Hier komt de quantumcomputer! Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2018
De ruimtelift: kan dit geweldige idee werkelijkheid worden? Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2017
Moet de ruimtevaart groener Jurjen de Jong Scientias 2017
Software

Open source

When I write code, I like to publish open source versions of my code, such that others can use it, contribute, or play around with it.

Contact

Feel free to send me an email if you want to get in touch.