[1] He applied morphometric studies, examining curvature in foraminifera as a criterion, for determining geological ages of strata.
After his bachelor's degree he moved to study geology at the University of Basel influenced by August Tobler he started examining fossil foraminifera for dating.
His 1922 PhD was under Karl Martin and examined the stratigraphy of Sumbawa in the Dutch East Indies.
Van der Vlerk introduced morphometric approaches to examining correlations in grade of enclosure and curvature across taxa over time.
[4] Van der Vlerk was a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1950 onwards.