Thijs Elfrink did his Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Wageningen University & Research and continued his studies with a Master’s degree in History and Philosophy of Science at Utrecht University. During this Master’s program, he interned at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, where he contributed to historical research on the origins of rice cultivation in Suriname. This research highlighted the crucial role enslaved West Africans played in the transfer of knowledge regarding rice cultivation. Inspired by this focus on crops in history, Thijs wrote his Master’s thesis on the Dutch knowledge economy surrounding potato blight in the nineteenth century. In this work, he combined large-scale text models with close-reading of historical sources, mapping out the diverse roles of farmers, landowners, and scientists.
After his studies, Thijs worked briefly as an archival editor at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. Since February 2025, he has been working at the Huygens Institute, where he continues his research in the history of knowledge with great enthusiasm. As part of the PRESERVARE project, he has the opportunity to further develop his interest in food history. Thijs is fascinated by the interdisciplinary approach to the history of knowledge and food, and he hopes to continue making new connections between science, culture, and everyday life in his work.
