About ECHN

Jared van Rooyen

Chair, SOUTH AFRICA

Postdoctoral researcher at Eawag (Switzerland). My primary field of interest is in isotope hydrology with major applications in groundwater vulnerability and sustainability. Other research interests include novel gas tracers in groundwater and managed aquifer recharge.

Stefania Stevenazzi

Co-chair, ITALY

Stefania is a researcher at the University of Naples Federico II (Italy). Her research focuses on groundwater quality, groundwater availability, and groundwater vulnerability assessment, by means of numerical modelling and spatial statistical techniques.

Isadora Aumond Kuhn

Co-chair, BRAZIL

Isadora is a researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil. She works as regional coordinator of the groundwater monitoring network at southern Brazil. She is a PhD student at Hydraulic Research Institute (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), her research is focused on groundwater time series analysis and isotopic geochemistry. She has a bachelor degree in Geology and a MSc with emphasis in geochemistry and lead isotopes.

Jade Ward

Co-chair, UNITED KINGDOM

Jade is a hydrogeologist at the British Geological Survey, working on a range of water resources and water quality research projects. Her PhD research focussed on investigating novel approaches for detecting microbial contamination in drinking water in Africa, undertaking her data collection in Malawi. During her PhD, Jade completed a Fellowship with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST, UK Parliament), writing a briefing on water resilience and climate change for parliamentarians. Before starting her PhD, Jade worked as a consultant hydrogeologist for four years at Mott MacDonald, where she gained her chartership (MCIWEM, C.WEM, CSci). Jade holds an MSc in Hydrogeology from the University of Birmingham, UK and a BSc in Environmental Sciences (with a year in industry) from the University of East Anglia, UK.

Richard Hoffman

Task team, GERMANY

Richard works as a postdoctoral researcher at Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany, focusing on sustainable groundwater management and uncertainty quantification in heterogeneous terrestrial systems. He develops integrated hydrological models to simulate land surface and subsurface processes simultaneously. His PhD thesis focused on the injection of heat, cold water and dissolved gases in heterogeneous alluvial sediments and fractured rocks.

Alina Kadhila

Task team, NAMIBIA

Alina is a geohydrologist at Namibia Water Corporation, in Namibia. Her areas of interest are: Integrated and Sustainable Water Resources Management, Water Governance and Diplomacy, Transboundary Cooperation, Gender Mainstreaming in the Water Sector, Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Development in the context of Agenda 30.

Igor Karlović

Task Team, CROATIA

Igor is a postdoctoral researcher at the Croatian Geological Survey and serves as the secretary of the IAH national chapter. His work involves the application of hydrochemical, isotope, and numerical modeling techniques to understand and mitigate environmental issues related to water resources. His research mainly focuses on the interaction between groundwater and surface water, assessing groundwater quantity and quality, and the management and protection of groundwater resources.

Fatima Monji

Task team, THE NETHERLANDS

Fatima is a graduate of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme: Groundwater and Global Change – Impacts and Adaptation. She completed her master degree at TU Dresden where she did research on estimating and quantifying the dynamics of soil water flow during irrigation. Currently, she works as a hydrogeologist at NECTAERRA in the Netherlands. NECTAERRA is an independent research and consultancy firm for groundwater, surface water, hydrogeology and urban hydrology.

Brian Murove

Task Team, ZIMBABWE

Brian is an early career hydrogeologist with a BSc Honors in Geographical Biogeosciences from the University of Zimbabwe. Having attended University of Birmingham MSc Hydrogeology classes from 2020-2021, l developed interest in numerical modelling, organic and inorganic chemistry as well as remediation of contaminated sites. Currently, l am the Founder and Managing Director of WASADC, which is a regional organisation enhancing water security in Southern Africa.

Stéphanie Musy

Task Team, SWITZERLAND

Aqeela Parker

Task Team, SOUTH AFRICA

Aqeela is a Project Hydrogeologist and the Business Unit Leader for the Groundwater Monitoring and Management Department at GEOSS South Africa. She holds an MSc in hydrogeology and is currently pursuing a PhD, focusing on sustainable dewatering and managed aquifer recharge schemes for a mine on South Africa’s West Coast. Her expertise lies in determining natural groundwater sources and flow paths using physical and hydrochemical methods. Her key skills include natural groundwater flow path assessments; groundwater monitoring and management; conducting groundwater geophysical surveys (including Airborne Electromagnetic (TDEM) and Ground Resistivity); stable isotope and radioisotope analysis; and basic geochemical modelling. 

Paulo Filipe Silva Borges

Task Team, PORTUGAL

Paulo is a PhD researcher in Geology with specialization in Hydrogeology at University of Azores (Portugal). In the insular environment he is using the electric methods of geophysics and programming for modelling the groundwater in volcanic terrains. He holds a MSc in Geosciences with specialization in Environment and Ornament. Is interested in Hydrodynamics of contaminations and saltwater intrusion.

Luis Camilo Suescún

Task team, COLOMBIA

Luis Camilo holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and MSc. in Water Resources from National University of Colombia where he obtained a Laureated thesis and international awards. His research was focused on analytic and numerical inverse modeling to estimate seepage flows in deep tunnels. He is currently working as Groundwater modeler in DHI Group developing groundwater flow and transport models in fractured and porous media for underground and mining projects in Latin America. He is representative of IAH-Colombian Chapter and supports the ECH’s expansion in Colombia as a volunteer in activities related to oil&gas industry, water management and transfer groundwater knowledge. His principal interests are Groundwater Modeling, Groundwater Management, Groundwater Quality, Groundwater Governance, and Socio-Hydrogeology.

Ashwani Kumar Tiwari

Task Team, INDIA

Ashwani is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi, India). His teaching and research areas are hydro-geochemistry, contamination of water resources by geogenic and anthropogenic activities, groundwater-seawater interaction, aquifer vulnerability, mining, water resource management and GIS. Tiwari was a Post-doctoral researcher at DIATI, Politecnico di Torino (Turin, Italy). He was awarded Erasmus Mundus and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Scholarships.

Eileen Villaseñor

Eileen is a Consultant Hydrogeologist at WSP in the UK. She works on a range of projects focussing on water resources hydrogeology, groundwater abstraction licensing, borehole development, legacy coal mining and the impacts on groundwater resources, and geothermal energy from groundwater sources. Eileen is originally from Texas, USA, and obtained a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Texas at Austin before undertaking her MSc in Hydrogeology and Water Management at Newcastle University. Before moving to the UK, Eileen worked for the State of Texas’ regulatory body in the management and regulation of natural resources.

Klara Zagar

Task Team, SLOVENIA

Klara is a PhD researcher at Jožef Stefan Institute (Slovenia). Her research focuses on application of isotopic geochemistry in the field of urban hydrology (from different sources to tap) and is participating in other projects relate to water resources. She completed her master in Geoenvironment and Geochemistry from the University of Ljubljana.

Raquel Sousa

Past co-chair (2016-2020), PORTUGAL

Key research interest: groundwater quality, sustainable development, development and cooperation and groundwater management in low income  countries and rural areas.

Carlos Maldaner

Past chair (2016-2018), CANADA/BRAZIL

Key research interest: flow and contaminant transport characterization in fractured bedrock aquifers.

Viviana Re

Past chair (2013-2016), ITALY

Key research interest: isotope hydrogeology, groundwater quality monitoring, and groundwater management in rural areas, socio-hydrogeology.

Judith Flügge

Past chair (2011-2013), GERMANY

Key research interest: groundwater flow and transport modeling and on long-term safety assessments for nuclear waste repositories.

Matthys Dippenaar

Past Co-chair (2013-2015), SOUTH AFRICA

Key research interest: unsaturated flow and multiphase flow through soils and fractured rock systems and the modelling and conceptualization thereof, as well as urban hydrology and urban water history.