Ruben is the author of Big Fat Myths, a book that explains how every molecule of fat escapes the human body during weight loss, atom by atom. His novel fat metabolism research was published in the British Medical Journal, alongside a survey of 150 Australian doctors, dietitians and personal trainers, which revealed most health professionals do not know how weight loss works at the molecular level.
Ruben is a surfer with a physics degree and a passion for all things scientific. He has appeared on ABC Television’s flagship science program, Catalyst, Studio 3, Sleek Geeks, Roller Coaster, Triple J’s Super Request, and he was the first ever resident scientist on Play School. He visits hundreds of primary and high schools every year, speaks at conferences, MC’s events, has published hundreds of resources for teachers and written four children’s books full of experiments. He has appeared on, Can We Help, Sunrise, Today and Mornings with Kerri-Anne.
Bio:
Ruben studied physics at the Queensland University of Technology. He graduated in 1993 and worked at Laserdyne Technologies Pty Ltd on the Gold Coast, designing and manufacturing optical coatings for medical, military and industrial lasers .
Ruben completed a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication at the Australian National University in 1995. As part of the coursework, Ruben and fourteen other science graduates toured with the Shell Questacon Science Circus performing science shows in primary and high schools as part of a graduate diploma in science communication.
Ruben launched the “surfing scientist” school program on the Gold Coast in 1997 with support from Griffith University’s School of Environmental Science where he enrolled for a Ph.D. He has been visiting schools as the “surfing scientist” ever since.
Ruben’s Ph.D topic was an “Assessment of the impact of shark meshing on the risk of shark attack” but, sadly, he got extremely distracted by a grand idea and never completed the study (Christopher Ness is now working on the question at the University of Sydney.)
While trawling the literature for everything he could find to read about sharks, Ruben also taught primary science education in Griffith University’s School of Education and Professional Studies. To address the distinct lack of self confidence about teaching science he noticed among his students and even practicing teachers, Ruben decided to design and run a hands-on whodunit competition with the Gold Coast Mayor playing the “victim” and local celebrities the “suspects”. With the University’s blessing, he took leave from his Ph.D, won a National Science Week grant and in 1999, launched “Who Stole the Mayor’s New Malibu?” More than 5000 kids analysed the crime scene “evidence” in their classrooms and the culprit was brought to justice with green slime at a public court case argued by Griffith University law students and presided over by a former high court judge.
After a brief and unexpected interlude as a runner on Paramount Pictures’ Mission Impossible II (yes, yes, with Tom Cruise in Sydney while he was still with Nicole but sadly, no, Ruben’s name does not appear in the film’s credits or IMDB entry) and as producer’s assistant to Anthony Winley on The Jim Henson Company’s Farscape, Ruben headed back to the Gold Coast to take his forensic competition format national.
“Who Stole the Minister’s Malibu?” was launched on Triple J in 2002 and more than 130 000 listeners and school kids joined in the hunt for the celebrity crooks (Adam Spencer and Wil Anderson, who were duly slimed.) Ruben’s forensic whodunits soon attracted attention from the UK so, in 2003, he packed his bags for London and produced “The Planet Science Whodunit” which attracted more than half a million participants throughout the United Kingdom.
Upon his return to Australia, Ruben took up an exciting offer to write science education materials for ABC Science Online. The The Surfing Scientist website was launched in 2004 and Ruben is still writing new content for it to this day.
He also took up the equally exciting offer of writing and co-hosting an online video program with Bernie Hobbs called The Experimentals. Soon after the Experimentals began airing on ABC1, Ruben came to the attention of Elliot Spencer and the producers of Roller Coaster. Initially joining Elliot on set for National Science Week in 2006, Ruben’s weekly science segments on Roller Coaster soon became a smash hit with Aussie kids. In 2008, Elliot and Ruben also appeared in character as the bumbling Professor Slo and Doctor Mo every Thursday, performing strange stunts and replaying them in super slow motion.
In 2007, Ruben accepted yet another exciting offer, this time, to write a children’s science book. He went on to publish three more books and is currently working on a fifth. Later that year, while performing liquid nitrogen demonstrations at the ABC’s 75th Anniversary celebrations in Sydney in a tent shared with the Catalyst team, Ruben caught the program’s executive producer’s attention. His first Catalyst story aired the following year.
Not from around here…
Ruben was born in a quant little house in the coastal village of Vlissingen in the Netherlands (the house was for sale when Google took this photo). His family emigrated to Australia eight days before his ninth birthday in 1980 and he immediately fell in love with everything about the place, particularly the Coral Sea.
Unable to speak more than just a few words of English upon arrival, Ruben landed in the care of Mr Greg Mallet, his year 4 teacher at Thabeban State School in Bundaberg. In less than six months, Ruben’s English was not only fluent but he had developed a broad Aussie, a reflection of Mr Mallet’s patience, kindness and skill as a dedicated educator and carer for children. Ruben completed his high school education at Kepnock State High School.
Ruben is proud to be a product of Australia’s free public education and is passionate about literacy, numeracy and science education for all. He has visited his old primary school twice and was “Principal for a Day” there in 2008. He has also visited Kepnock State High School to perform science demonstrations twice since 1995.
When Ruben isn’t blowing things up, standing in front of a camera, reading peer-reviewed scientific literature, thumbing through a popular science book or tapping away on a keyboard, you’ll find him at a beach running up and down the soft sand or drifting around on a piece of foam somewhere just off shore.