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Roelof Dirk (Olaf) Schuiling (Arnhem, 26 February 1932 - Bilthoven, 19 December 2021) was a Dutch Professor at the Delft University of Technology and Utrecht University. He was also a geologist and petrologist.

Life and work
Prof Schuiling was born in 1932, the son of Dirk Schuiling (1882-1966) and Tonia Hendrika Verkuijl (1898-1984). After high school, he studied petrology at university. In 1961, he was promoted to PhD. He began his career as a geologist. Afterwards, Schuiling worked as a researcher at Utrecht University. He then spent a year as a NATO research fellow at Princeton University. In 1972, Schuiling was appointed professor of geochemistry and experimental petrology at the University of Utrecht, a position he held until 1997. He then became a part-time professor at Delft University of Technology until 2003. He also lectured at UNESCO.

Schuilings proposal with mineral olivine uptake of the greenhouse gas CO2
prof. Dr. Schuiling is the spiritual father of the idea of using the mineral olivine to absorb a large part of the greenhouse gas CO2 from the atmosphere. This follows on from Seifritz, who had done the first publication on active CO2 sequestration with minerals. Olivine (magnesium iron silicate) is a common mineral which, ground and spread over the land, reacts with water and CO2. This creates bicarbonate that dissolves in water and drains to the sea with the water. In the sea it then precipitates as limestone. The dissolved magnesium iron silicate also increases the CO2 absorption by an increase in the growth of diatoms, which precipitate as coral.

Virgin Earth Challenge
The idea of combating climate change with olivine has also been submitted for the Virgin Earth Challenge. Here it was one of the 11 finalists. The Virgin Earth Challenge ran from 2007 to 2019, when the contest was quietly disbanded without paying out the promised $25 million prize.

Schuiling proposal to raise the height of the Dutch coastal region by injecting sulfuric acid into the limestone layer
Prof. Dr. Schuiling previously caused a sensation with his proposal to raise the height of the Dutch coastal region by injecting sulfuric acid into the lime layer. The calcium carbonate in the low-lying lime layer therefore reacts to form the more voluminous CaSO4 (gypsum). In 1998, the Utrecht faculty conducted a very limited test for this purpose at 't Rooth near Maastricht.

Publications
In addition to his many scientific publications, his book 'Olivine, the philosopher's stone' was published on June 16, 2017, in which he offers practical applications for the use of olivine.