Diederik Jekel (born 22 June 1984 at Bilthoven, the Netherlands) is a Dutch science journalist,

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate ca ...

. In 2018, he was elected president of the Dutch Physical Society (NNV).

Career

Jekel studied physics at

Twente University The University of Twente (Dutch: ''Universiteit Twente''; , abbr. ) is a public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands. The university has been placed in the top 170 universities in the world by multiple central ranking tables. ...

, where he obtained a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in physics in 2010. Since 2011 he regularly appeared in the early-evening Dutch television talk show ''

De Wereld Draait Door ''De Wereld Draait Door'' (; English: "The world keeps on turning") also known by the acronym DWDD was an early-evening talk show on Dutch television, broadcast every weekday at 7:00 p.m. on NPO 1. It is the Netherlands' longest-running, re ...

'' to discuss science-related topics. In 2013, he acted as a host alongside

Matthijs van Nieuwkerk Matthijs van Nieuwkerk (; born 8 September 1960) is a Dutch journalist and television presenter. He is best known for hosting the daily '' De Wereld Draait Door'' (DWDD) television show from 2005 to 2020. Biography Matthijs van Nieuwkerk wa ...

and Isolde Hallensleben, in the spin-off television programme ''De wereld leert door'', in which scientists were interviewed about their research. Between 2015 and 2018, he explained scientific concepts and experiments in the Dutch television game show ''Professor Nicolai & Dr. Beckand'', presented by Ruben Nicolai and Tijl Beckand. In 2016, he won the '' National IQ Test'' with an IQ of 137. He was one of the contestants in the 17th season of the Dutch television show '' Wie is de Mol?'' where he finished in 3rd place. In 2018 and 2019, Jekel and Elisabeth van Nimwegen presented the television show ''De Kennis van Nu''. In 2020, Jekel and

Patty Brard A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world. In British and American Eng ...

presented the Dutch television series ''Brard & Jekel: VetGelukkig?!'' about people who are

overweight Being overweight or fat is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is especially common where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. , excess weight reached epidemic proportions globally, with m ...

. In that same year, he appeared in the second season of the television show ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

''. Since 2021, he appears as one of the Champions in ''Beat The Champions'', the Dutch adaptation of the British game show '' The Chase's'' spin-off ''Beat the Chasers''. In 2021, he also played the role of traitor in the television show '' De Verraders''. In 2022, he looked at historic scientific experiments in the Dutch television series ''Jekels Jacht''. Jekel and Jon Karthaus are the script writers of the 2022 Dutch feature film '' Costa!!''.

Selected filmography

As presenter / host / expert

* ''De wereld leert door'' (2013) * ''Professor Nicolai & Dr. Beckand'' (2015 – 2018) * ''De Kennis van Nu'' (2018, 2019) * ''Brard & Jekel: VetGelukkig?!'' (2020) * ''Jekels Jacht'' (2022)

As expert

* ''Beat The Champions'' (2021 – )

As contestant

* '' National IQ Test'' (2016) * '' Wie is de Mol?'' (2017) * ''

'' (2020) * '' De Verraders'' (2021)

Publications

Jekel's publications include: * ''Ironing out pnictides'', Master's thesis Twente University, 2010. In Dutch. * ''Zeven rampen die niet gaan gebeuren'', Contact, Amsterdam, 2011. In Dutch. * ''Bèta voor alfa's'', Uitgeverij Atlas Contact, Amsterdam, 2014. Reeks Kleine boekjes. In Dutch. * with

André Kuipers André Kuipers (; born 5 October 1958) is a Dutch physician and ESA astronaut. He became the second Dutch citizen, third Dutch-born and fifth Dutch-speaking astronaut upon launch of Soyuz TMA-4 on 19 April 2004. Kuipers returned to Earth aboard ...

et al., ''Antidepressiva en agressie, wiskunde redt mensenlevens, Hannover Messe''. DVD video, NTR, Hilversum, 2014. In Dutch.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jekel, Diederik 1984 births 21st-century Dutch journalists Dutch physicists Dutch television presenters Living people People from Utrecht (province)