Dirk graduated Cum Laude from University of Amsterdam, with Masters degrees in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics and followed by a PhD in Mathematical Physics, String Theory at Utrecht University in 1989. He went on to complete an academic post-doctorate at Berkeley and was awarded a fellowship at Harvard University. He joined Shell’s Geophysics R&D department in the Netherlands in 1992. Since then he has held numerous positions, including Chief Geophysicist for Shell UK and Technology Manager for Hydrocarbon Exploration. Dirks holds several positions outside Shell: a visiting faculty position at the Earth Science department at MIT in Boston, as well as a visiting professorship in Geoscience at the Chinese University of Petroleum in Beijing. He serves on numerous university advisory boards in The Netherlands, China and US. Dirk served as a member of the National Research Council on Solid Earth Observations in the US and is currently a member of the National Dutch Science Board for Basic Science Research in the Netherlands. He was awarded the Ludwig Mintrop Award for geophysics in 2002.