Prof Rip is Professor at the Centre for Studies of Science, Technology and Society, Twente University, The Netherlands, and Associate Professor at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Republic of South-Africa. He began his career as a chemist but has always had broader interests in philosophy and in the role of science and technology in society. He specialised in the social aspects of science and technology assessment in Leiden University and worked on the dynamics of science and technology at the University of Amsterdam before joining University of Twente in 1987.