I am pleased to share that I have successfully completed my Habilitation at the Faculty of Geoscience and Geography at the University of Göttingen. With this step, I have been granted the academic title Privatdozent (PD) and the formal qualification habil., which acknowledges my ability to conduct independent research and teaching within the German academic system. I am deeply grateful to the colleagues, mentors, and students who have accompanied me along the way. My thesis titled „Hydrogeological Insights into Complex Fractured-Porous Media and Karst Systems: Innovative Methods for Modeling, Characterization, and Environmental Assessment“ can be found online:
http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-11016
As part of the Habilitation process, I had the opportunity to present my research to the committee through a scientific talk titled “Water in the Anthropocene: Hydrogeological Challenges and Opportunities in Urban Environments.” I also gave a teaching demonstration lecture on “Microbial Influences on Groundwater Quality and Aquifer Geochemistry,” showcasing my approach to interdisciplinary and applied geoscience education.
The central focus of my Habilitation thesis lies in understanding partially saturated flow and transport in complex porous-fractured systems, spanning from microscale fluid dynamics to catchment-scale aquifer processes. The work integrates laboratory experiments, analytical solutions, 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), and data-driven tools like neural networks. Special emphasis is placed on the detailed understanding of fracture infiltration, as well as on large-scale multi-scale modeling of karst aquifers to quantify vadose-phreatic storage and recharge under changing climate conditions. My research aims to bridge scales – from surface interactions in individual fractures to the behavior of entire aquifer systems – providing new insights into preferential flow, fracture-matrix interactions, and groundwater vulnerability. In particular, the introduction of hydro-thermo-chemo-graphs and self-organizing maps offers a novel lens through which to decode hydrochemical patterns in heterogeneous subsurface environments.
I look forward to continuing my work in Barcelona – building on these findings, collaborating across disciplines, and supporting the next generation of scientists tackling current groundwater challenges.