The invisible power of citizen science
21 april 2026
In ExpACT, we work together with citizens to measure and analyse air quality data. An article on the often-unseen power of these citizen scientists was recently published in Vetscience, the magazine of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University.
Rob is one of those citizen scientists. He contributes to the Exposome Panel Study by voluntarily collecting data for research. For two weeks, the measurements demand Rob’s attention every day. When he goes cycling with his wife, he takes a particulate matter sensor and a GPS tracker with him. A sensor on his window measures the air quality. On his wrist he wears a silicon wristband day and night that captures chemical substances. Rob explains what motivates him: “We gain deeper insight into our own living environment, while also contributing to knowledge that can be applied on a larger scale.”
