An Vercalsteren is team leader in one of the research teams in the unit Sustainable Materials Management. In this function, she coordinates both research projects and contract research, she expands and sustains networks and is actively involved in different research projects. An mainly is focussing on research related to life cycle thinking, value chain analysis, input-output analysis, sustainable production and consumption and indicators. As a part of this, she regularly cooperates with industry, governmental and research organizations on these topics, communicates frequently in different fora and publishes in scientific journals. An started her career as a researcher on life cycle assessment and eco-design projects, and built up a comprehensive knowledge (20 years experience) in the themes mentioned above.