Wim van Westrenen uses high-pressure, high-temperature experiments to study the evolution of rocky bodies in our own solar system and beyond. To do so, his team subjects rock samples to extreme pressure and temperature conditions, and measures their chemical and physical properties. Recent studies include work on the conditions of core formation in Earth, the Moon, Mercury, Mars, and asteroids; work on the solidification of the magma ocean covering the Moon and the role of water in its evolution; and studies of the distribution of trace compounds between minerals and co-existing magma. Wim is one of the coordinators of the national Planetary and Exoplanetary Science (PEPSci) network in which geoscientists and astronomers collaborate. 

Wim teaches courses at the BSc and MSc level in planetary science, mineral and rock recognition, mantle properties, magmatic processes, mathematics and physics, and is Director of the VU MSc Earth Sciences programme.

Wim is a former member and former board member of the Young Academy of KNAW. In 2013, he was appointed as full professor in Planetary Evolution on a University Research Chair.

• ESA Topical Team Lunar Dust Toxicity | Noordwijk | Onbekend | 2017-01-10 - present
• Stichting EARTH | Peize | Directeur | 2019-11-01 - present
• Center for High Pressure Science & Technology Adv Research | Shanghai | Gastonderzoeker | 2021-04-01 - present

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