Portfolio (PDF version)
Adapting agro-ecosystems to climate change requires integrated thinking. I was educated in this area, with a focus on environmental physics, agronomy, plant ecology and applied hydrology. I have many years of experience in these fields and use modern data science, modelling, computer programming, database and measuring methods to develop scientific and practical solutions for improving the resilience of environmental systems to climate change. For example, my recent work includes a solution for linking plant molecular biology with agronomy, which is currently the subject of much debate.
Through extensive work in East African wetland research, I have learnt that applying technical solutions also requires an understanding of the human context. How do farmers relate to the land they farm? How is their decision-making influenced in different social-ecological contexts? How can government policies support social deliberation on environmental issues? These are the kinds of questions I have been working on in recent years. I studied environmental psychology and policy process theory for this purpose. I am currently completing an article on a methodological framework for understanding farmers’ imaginations of sustainable land use futures. Another recent review summarizes my experience as a scientific advisor to East African wetland policy-makers. We have developed a new policy process theory and a new decision support method for environmental policy making.
The collaborative research projects I was working on have ended. I am currently in search of employment. Below is a summary of my expertise..
Professional expertise
Farming (since 1981)
Agroecology (since 1984)
Environmental Physics (since 1990)
Ecological Environmental Protection (since 1994)
Research Integration and Management (since 1998)
Environmental Policy-Making (since 2008)
Farmer-land relations (since 2011)
Methodological expertise
Solution-oriented research and development
Artificial intelligence and data science (certified 2024)
Mixed data analysis, modelling and information design
Transdisciplinary cooperation and field research
Python, Tensorflow, PyTorch, R, SQL, Java
Further expertise
International Environmental Research (since 1984)
Operation, improvement and development of environmental instrumentation (since 1984)
Member of several collaborative research projects in various functions (since 1998)
PhD supervision (since 2003)
University Teaching: Environmental sciences and quantitative modelling (since 2003)
Scientific policy advice in East-Africa (since 2008)
Major contributions
Characterizing light extinction and microclimate at small forest streams (1995)
Validation of the Penman-Monteith equation in contrasting climates (1997)
Tree energy-balance model (2006)
Validation of the CERES crop growth model (2008)
New closed chamber method for measuring canopy gas-exchange (2012)
Improved heat-balance method for measuring sap-flow in plants (2014)
Improved plant-functional type parameterization of the Community-Land Model CLM (2015)
Integrated plant-physiology concept (2020)
New policy-process theory for environmental policy-making (2023)
New method “Cognitive-driven information design” for environmental policy-making (2023)
New theory for understanding farmer-land relations (2024)
Education
Farmer Journeyman (1987)
Diplom International Agronomy (1992)
Diplom Ecological Environmental Protection (1995)
PhD with distinction: Cultural Engineering and Water Management (1997)
Professor of Modelling Plant Systems (2005)