About Us
The Center of Trial & Error is a virtual platform and sandbox for disruptive initiatives that will lead to institutional change.
With the Journal of Trial & Error as our flagship, we aim to bridge the gap between what researchers do and what researchers can report, to discuss and question what kind of knowledge is deemed valuable, to advocate for practices that positively impact the lives of researchers and the public, and to advance policies that put openness, transparency and compassion above profit, division and bottom lines.
Our Mission
The Center of Trial & Error believes that a more transparent, responsible, honest, and reflexive way of doing scholarship requires institutional change. It thereby tries to disrupt existing scholarly infrastructures by empowering early career researchers to develop and explore the possibilities of non-profit and value-driven platforms for academic activities.
Moreover, the Center aims to provide space for ongoing and independent reflection on academic culture, systemic structures, research and academic education and wants to connect those who (try to) enforce practical change. To do so, the Center hosts five branches around our Journal: publishing, training, research, and software development.
Meet the Team
Maura Burke
Board Member
Maura Burke is finalizing her PhD on the philosophy of science at Utrecht University. Her work focuses on the nature of human cognition and its role in the nature of scientific knowledge.
Puck Engelbarts
Copy Editor
Puck is a master's student Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences at Utrecht University.
Sarahanne Field
Editor in Chief, Meta-Research Editor
Sarahanne's a metascientist who conducts research on the science reform/open science movement, debates and controversies in the community, and the practices they engage in. She's not only interested in what goes wrong with science, but in how and why it has gone wrong.
Stefan Gaillard
Co-founder, Editor, Special Issue Editor-in-Chief
Stefan Gaillard specializes in failure, uncertainty, and erroneous claims – both in science and society. He is one of the co-founders of the Journal of Trial and Error and currently works on the special issue on scientific failure in the health domain.
David Grüning
Psychology Editor
David is currently a PhD student at Heidelberg University & GESIS bridging the gap between Cognitive Psychology & Measurement Theory.
He is Editor of the Psychology section of the Journal of Trial & Error, striving to embrace the Center's openness concept of publishing & academic exchange for Psychology.
Marcel Hobma
Blog Editor, Social Media Manager
Marcel Hobma is a student in History and Philosophy of Science, and trained as an (investigative) journalist. His interests vary from the Philosophy of Biology to the incentive structure of science. He currently works on his Master's thesis on the cultural evolution of values in nutrition science.
Thomas F. K. Jorna
IT Director, Vice Treasurer
Having a background in theoretical physics, Thomas is finishing his master's in philosophy of science. Passionate about open science and open source software, they manage all the darn IT in this place, and do the typesetting for the journal and publishing efforts of the Center. He also works for the Knowledge Futures Group to make PubPub, the open publishing platform used by the Journal.
Michelle Moonen
Project Assistant
Michelle is currently finishing up her BAs in History and English Language and Culture at the Utrecht University and is interested in political history, memory studies and environmental humanities. Besides her studies, she is the chairwoman of the Dutch Debatbond. For the Center of Trial and Error, Michelle will assist with several projects to advance the Center's goals.
Jip Prinsen
Production Editor, Technical Administrator
Jip is working through their Master's in Industrial and Applied Mathematics, focusing on discrete applications and operations research. They started off as a typesetter for the Journal, channeling their obsessive eye for precision and uniformity. As time goes on, they are expanding their role to include a variety of tasks in the production and IT branches of the Center.
Merel Smid
Copy editor
Merel Smid is a researcher and science communicator with a background in biomedical sciences. She currently performs research at Amsterdam UMC into medical communication, with a particular interest in the communication of medical uncertainty, e.g. when healthcare providers are unsure about the diagnosis or treatment outcomes.
Muriel Strange
Project Manager
Muriel Strange is a social science researcher who specializes in the interaction between trust, identity, and intuition in healthcare decision-making. I currently work as a project manager at the Journal of Trial and Error and as a freelance researcher in my free time.
Alex Visser
Managing Editor
Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Utrecht University and has been involved with the Centre of Trial and Error since its conception. They study European history at Maastricht University, in the Research Master European Studies.