Dick M. A. Schaap was born in 1955 in Velsen, The Netherlands. He received the M,Sc. degree in civil engineering (specializing in coastal and ports) from the Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, in 1980.Since 1980 he has been employed by the North Sea Directorate of Rijkswaterstaat, The Hague, The Netherlands. He is Head of the subdivision Hydrological and Meteorological Affairs, which among other things controls the North Sea Measuring Network. He paid a great contribution to the recent deepening of the approach channels to Rotterdam-Europoort and IJmuiden (Amsterdam).