Tom is a professor of social psychology and studies social unrest. Since 2013, he has been studying the human consequences of gas extraction. Since then, Tom has done a lot of research into the gas extraction problem: consequences for Groningen residents, the cooperation between residents/communities and authorities in settling claims and reinforcement. He also investigated the relationship between management and implementation. In 2015 he founded the research project “Gronings Perspectief” together with prof. Katherine Stroebe. This large-scale research program mapped out the human impact. In 2016 he founded the Knowledge Platform Earthquakes and Sustainable Development (KADO) with the support of the University of Groningen (Sustainable Society). The goal was, among other things, to improve collaboration between disciplines. Tom is the scientific director of the Knowledge Platform.