by Aart-Peter van den Berg van Saparoea
Matthijs de Rooij passed away on December 2nd at the age of 46, only a few weeks after being diagnosed with late-stage cancer. In recent years he did not attend PGK events regularly because he had three young children. But he was a member of the PGK, and in a more distant past he frequently attended social events in The Hague, including those of the PGK.
After attaining an MSc in geophysics from Utrecht University in 1999, Matthijs went on to gain a second Master’s degree in Reservoir Evaluation & Management from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. In 2001 he joined dGB Earth Sciences, where he worked on reservoir characterisation studies and the development of dGB’s software products for five years. From 2016 onward Matthijs worked at Shell in The Hague, as geophysicist and exploration geoscientist. I have never worked with Matthijs, but I have no doubt it must have been a pleasure to be his colleague. He had a sharp mind, a positive attitude, and he was a very sociable person.
I have known Matthijs since we were both students in Utrecht. Over the years we have attended many social events together, been on many geological excursions together, and enjoyed countless beers together. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he was always keen to involve other people in his activities. But above all, he was a very nice person and a good friend. He will be missed and remembered fondly by many.
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