AGREEMAR includes six partners covering universities, public companies, and national research centres from Germany, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal and Tunisia, together with stakeholders from four Mediterranean regional clusters.
Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), GERMANY
Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), PORTUGAL
ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE), CYPRUS
adelphi research gGmbH, GERMANY
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), SPAIN
Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), TUNISIA
Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), GERMANY
Catalin Stefan
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Dr. Catalin Stefan is the Head of Research Group INOWAS at TUD and the Coordinator of AGREEMAR project. His research focuses on planning, assessment and optimisation of managed aquifer recharge applications using physical models and computer-based simulations. Dr. Stefan received his PhD on Environmental Sciences in 2007 and works at TUD since 2004 as Research Associate. Since 2019, he is Co-Chair of the Commission on Managing Aquifer Recharge of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and since 2016 active member of Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice (GRIPP). He is the initiator and co-author of the Global MAR Portal, an inventory of over 1000 MAR case studies worldwide. Dr. Stefan has experience in coordinating and managing international networks and partnerships with regional focus on Central America and Central and Southeast Asia. In AGREEMAR, Dr. Stefan will be responsible for general project management and coordination (WP6).
Jana Glass
Project Member
Dr. Jana Glass is experienced groundwater modeller working with the INOWAS group since 2014. Dr. Glass is the main architect of the web-based simulation platform INOWAS and has extensive experience on using analytical and numerical tools for groundwater modelling at MAR sites. Her work includes a comprehensive review of analytical and numerical tools for modelling of MAR, some of which she applied for assessing the performance of MAR at different case studies in Vietnam, Germany, etc. Dr. Glass also brought important contributions to further development of HYDRUS 2D/3D, the state-of- the-art software for vadose zone modelling, by proposing a new boundary condition related to MAR simulations.
Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), PORTUGAL
Teresa E. Leitão
Principal Investigator
Dr Teresa E. Leitão, LNEC principal investigator, is PhD in Hydrogeology in the field of groundwater quality rehabilitation, Senior Research Officer with Habilitation Degree at National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC). As expert in sampling, monitoring, data analysis, and modelling the fate and transport of pollutants in groundwater, she will supervise the work to be developed on risk assessment of groundwater contamination in Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) schemes aiming natural attenuation of contaminants using nature-based solutions.
Tiago N. Martins
Project Member
Mr Tiago N. Martins, groundwater modeller, is MSc in Hydrogeology and conducted his dissertation within the MARSOL project on the subject of Soil-Aquifer Treatment. He is currently a Senior Technician in National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) and is developing his PhD thesis related to Managed Aquifer Recharge. Tiago has experience in vulnerability assessment and numerical modelling of groundwater flow but also has expertise in laboratory work, particularly in soil-column experiments. In AGREEMAR, he is involved in the numerical modelling, which also include the preparation of meteorological data series for natural recharge computation, and post-modelling mapping procedures.
Manuel M. Oliveira
Project Member
Dr Manuel M. Oliveira, groundwater modeller, is PhD in Hydrogeology in the field of aquifer recharge, Research Officer at National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC). As expert in groundwater recharge and hydrogeological modelling, he will supervise the work to be developed concerning the optimization of infiltration methods and numerical modelling of the MAR tests.
ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE), CYPRUS
Konstantinos Panagiotou
Principal Investigator
Dr Konstantinos Panagiotou has extensive experience in mathematical development and numerical modelling of flow and heat transport. He has a deep understanding of the physical processes that drive the flow dynamics. He has also experience on conducting stochastic computations for modeling spatio-temporal of key hydrogeological parameters, use of advanced geostatistical tools to estimate the spatial uncertainty, and quantifying the risks associated with contaminants that are present in groundwater systems. He has participated in several funded projects, both at national and international level, and has close and continuous collaboration with key stakeholders within the water sector.
Christiana Papoutsa
Project Member
Dr Christiana Papoutsa is a Research Fellow at the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE). She received her PhD entitled “Integrated use of Field Spectroscopy and Satellite Remote Sensing for Monitoring Water Quality in Case-2 (Inland and Coastal) water bodies” from the Cyprus University of Technology. Since 2009, she has participated in more than 15 research projects at National and European level received funding by several sources such as: FP6/EC; RPF (Cyprus); ESA PECS; Programme Med; FP7; H2020‐MSCA‐RISE; H2020: Twinning / Coordination and Support Action & Widespread‐04‐2017: Teaming Phase 1. During the last 5 years she has been involved in several projects falling within the agricultural sector and the water resources management for irrigation (SWSOIP Project); the influence of climate change on crops (Cascade Project); the adaptation of Sen4CAP at a national level (CROSS Project); etc.
Eleni Loulli
Project Member
Ms Eleni Loulli is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geoinformatics Engineering of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) and a member of the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence. She graduated from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with a BSc and a MSc in Environmental Engineering. Her MSc Degree was focused on Hydrology, and Water Resources Modelling and Management. Since March 2018, Eleni has been actively involved in various research projects at CUT. Specifically, she participated in the project H2020-MSCA-RISE SEO-DWARF (Semantic EO Data Web Alert and Retrieval Framework) in which she was seconded for four months to CloudSigma AG in Sofia (Bulgaria) and 1.5 months to PLANETEK Hellas in Athens, Greece), in the THAL-HOR 2 INTERREG Project and in the SOFIA and CROSS ESA PECS Projects. Currently, Eleni participates in the SIROCCO-RESTART Project, in the EXCELSIOR H2020 Project and in the FP-CUP research project. She also participates in various activities that aim at promoting Earth observation from space and the Copernicus program, such as presentations in secondary schools and science cafes. Eleni is a member of the Women in Copernicus initiative, aiming to give a voice and a face to the women who work with Copernicus.
adelphi research gGmbH, GERMANY
Ronjon Heim
Principal Investigator
Dr Ronjon Heim (born Chakrabarti) is a Senior Researcher in the topic area water at adelphi. His research and consulting work focuses on the analysis, development and evaluation of innovative and nature-based technologies for water treatment. In particular, he places an emphasis on local needs analysis and integrated water management guaranteeing equitable access to safe water, as well as climate change adaptation and the use of renewable energies. He considers knowledge exchange and a participatory approach to developing solutions critical to ensure that the final users derive maximum and sustainable benefits from his projects. In AGREEMAR, Dr Heim is responsible for leading WP1 and WP5 for which he makes use of his experience of more than 15 years of working in research and development projects on sustainable water solutions and MAR technologies in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North Africa.
Anika Conrad
Project Member
Ms Anika Conrad works as a consultant on adelphi’s topic area of water on integrated water resources management and climate adaptation. She gained profound experiences in paving the way for successful adaptation and implementation of innovative water technologies to/at various contexts. To this end, she conducts needs assessments, feasibility studies, barrier analysis and cost-benefit analyses, and develops roadmaps for solution implementation. In ongoing projects, Anika conducts tailored dialogues and training to promote stakeholder engagement and ownership in improving MAR site monitoring systems in Cyprus and Brazil as well as other sustainable water solutions in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), SPAIN
Joaquín Andreu
Principal Investigator
Prof Joaquín Andreu is the PI of the Water Resources Engineering Research (WRER) group of the IIAMA-UPV. He has authored over 50 research papers and has been the Principal Investigator of more than 40 research projects and contracts. He has worked as an adviser for the Inter-American Development Bank (Brazil), the Asian Development Bank (India, Indonesia, Viet-Nam and Philippines) and the World Bank (Brazil and Mexico).
Abel Solera-Solera
Project Member
Prof Abel Solera-Solera has authored over 30 research papers and has contributed to more than 25 research projects. His main research interests are water resources management and decision support systems.
Javier Paredes-Arquiola
Project Member
Prof Javier Paredes-Arquiola has authored over 25 research papers and has contributed to more than 30 research projects. His main research interests are water resources management, water quality modeling, and ecological assessment of rivers.
Rafael Bergillos
Project Member
Dr Rafael J. Bergillos has authored over 30 research papers and has participated in more than 15 research projects. He is currently working on the effects of environmental flow regimes on the hydrological alteration and the reliability of water demands.
Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), TUNISIA
Anis Chekirbane
Principal Investigator
Dr Anis Chekirbane is presently working as an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Agronomy, University of Carthage, Tunisia. Dr. Chekirbane received his PhD in the field of Sustainable Environmental Studies from the University of Tsukuba, Japan. He worked as researcher in the Water Research and Technologies center in Tunisia from 2004 until 2020. He served as Principal Investigator (PI), International Consultant and member of several research projects. In addition, he is an author/co-author for more than 17 scientific journal articles. His research interest focuses on water resources issues, including the characterization of groundwater flow systems, managed aquifer recharge and interaction between surface water and groundwater using GIS, geophysical methods, isotopic tracers and modeling approaches.
Jamila Tarhouni
Project Member
Prof Jamila Tarhouni is a full professor in the Rural Engineering, Water and Forestry department since 1985 and specialized in Hydrology and hydrogeology modelling and water management. Her research interests are related to water resources monitoring, survey, modelling and management in the context of semi-arid and arid lands. During her career, she has actively participated in several European projects (Med Campus, Avicenne, FP7, Tempus and Erasmus). Moreover, she has conducted bilateral research projects with the IRD, BGR, GIZ, University of Tsukuba and University of Tokyo in Japan. She has extensive experience in the field of international cooperation.
Adel Zghibi
Project Member
Dr Adel Zghibi is an assistant-Professor (PhD) of Hydrogeology and water engineering at the Faculty of Sciences of Tunisia. He graduated from the INAT. His research is mainly focused on modelling flow and mass transport processes in heterogeneous porous and fractured media.
Issam Nouiri
Project Member
Dr Issam Nouiri is a water management expert and associate professor at INAT. With 25+ years of relevant experience, Dr. Nouiri has coordinated and collaborated with research projects funded by Tunisian departments and international organizations (EC, BGR, GIZ, ACSAD, ALECSO) dealing with irrigation, water resources management, climate change, decision support systems development and implementation, and technology and knowledge transfer in the water sector. Dr. Nouiri has 40+ publications with more than 219 citations (2021).
Jamel Ben Nasr
Project Member
Dr. Jamel Ben Nasr is an Assistant Professor and researcher at INAT. Dr. Ben Nasr research interests include water management and governance, natural resource governance, climate change impact, social and environmental impacts, institutions and agriculture and sustainable development. Author of 20+ book chapters and papers.