Karin de Borst is a geomechanicist at Shell, developing emerging technologies for the assessment and mitigation of containment risks during hydrocarbon recovery and CO2 storage. Areas of interest include near-wellbore failure, data-driven geomechanics and uncertainty quantification, crossing length scales and disciplinary borders. Since September 2019, she is the Chair of the EAGE Special Interest Community ‘Decarbonization and Energy Transition’, which aims at promoting the energy transition among geoscientists and at developing the required skills for its delivery. She joined Shell in 2015 after a career in academia, where she was Reader at the University of Glasgow. She is a civil engineer and earned a PhD in computational mechanics and materials science from Vienna University of Technology. Her academic career was marked by an affinity to applications, and by a strong support for young scientists and collaboration.

Esther Bloem holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands (2008) and a M.Sc. in Mining and Petroleum Engineering (specializations: Applied Geophysics and Engineering Geology) from Delft University and Technology, The Netherlands (2002). Since 2008, she works as a research scientist at the Division of Environment and Natural Resources at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO).She works on issues concerning the environment, hydrogeology, agriculture, food security and climate change. Her research focus is on the impact of soil infiltration systems, irrigation systems, use of pesticides, potential salinization of the soil, groundwater extractions, saltwater intrusions, landfills and sewage spills, agriculture, industry (including airport activities) on soil and water quality. With her work she contributes to sustainable resource management, the reduction of negative environmental effects through development of measures, sustainable land use, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. She is an active member of EAGE. She is the Vice-Chair Officer for the Near Surface Geoscience Division (NSGD).