Author: Ivo Van Woerden

2014 WPI Fellow

(Investigative) Journalist, (international) magazines & newspapers
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Website: http://www.ivovanwoerden.com
Twitter: @IvovW
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Posts by Ivo Van Woerden:

System Overload (graduation speech)

One of the biggest data centers in the world is situated in Camp Williams just above Lake Utah. It has more than 1 million square feet and it has cost more than 2 billion dollars to build. The data center is home to the many servers of the National Security Agency...
The most invasive animal

The most invasive animal

Entering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia feels like entering a military base. We were screened, pre-approved and rescreened before we could enter the premises and go through yet some more security checks. The CDC has a huge...
Why 9/11 still gives me goose bumps

Why 9/11 still gives me goose bumps

Windows on the World, it was called. And I remember that the view from the 107th floor of the North Tower, one of the Twin Towers in New York City, seemed to be exactly that to me. So high up the horizon wasn’t its usual flat, but became a slightly bended line,...

Size Matters

After visiting the Native-American National Pipestone Monument in Tracy, Minnesota, I was given an “Indian” nickname by my colleagues: Sleepy Giant. The ‘sleepy’ aspect comes from being somewhat exhausted at certain times, and not afraid to say so. The giant part is...
Why US public toilets remind me of the NSA

Why US public toilets remind me of the NSA

It doesn’t happen very often that I feel a little culture shock in the US. The American culture reaches me on a daily basis in the Netherlands through music, movies, TV-series and literature. But there is one place that makes me uncomfortable every time I visit the...