Dr J.J. Hennekam

Jesse Hennekam is an Assistant Professor in Palaeontology at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Using techniques like geometric morphometrics and finite element analyses, he aims to understand the functional implications of the evolutionary changes we see in fossil mammals on islands. It is his goal to figure out how and why elephants become tiny on one island, and hedgehogs gigantic on the next. Together with students, he is scanning the bones of extant and extinct animals, and analyse shape changes statistically. With his research, he is trying to better grasp how animals have adapted to their environments in the past, the present, as well as making predictions for the future.

Jesse Hennekam is a member of the Maastricht Young Academy (MYA), focusing on scientific outreach and enabling interdisciplinary research within Maastricht University. Within FSE, he is responsible for the Honours Research Programme at the Maastricht Science Programme, as well as part of the Educational Programme Committee. In 2025, he was ellected as a Faculty Council member.

In addition, he is in the steering committee at the Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage (MACCH), and a board member of the Stichting Eugène Dubois.