Meet our team

Department of Physical Geography
Faculty of Geosciences
Utrecht University

https://www.uu.nl/medewerkers/JHNienhuis

Dr. Jaap Nienhuis is an Assistant professor at Utrecht University, working on coastal geomorphology of river deltas and barrier islands. Jaap’s primary methods are numerical modelling and field investigation, to assess the past and future of coastal environments such as the Wadden Islands.

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Postdoctoral researcher
Department of Economic Geography
University of Groningen

Monzer has been working on the WADWAD Project focused on the socio-ecological evaluation of future scenarios in the Wadden Sea Region. He holds a PhD in Climate Change Science and Management from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and an Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Maritime Spatial Planning. His expertise lies in social-ecological systems, ecosystem services, coastal ecosystems, GIS, and nature-based solutions. Over the years, he has conducted interdisciplinary research across Europe and South Asia, contributing to both academic knowledge and applied sustainability practices.

Annika Traue is a Research Assistant at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg. 

Her research focuses on societal adaptation to climate change in the Wadden Sea region, with a particular interest in the socio-geographical dimensions of environmental change. Annika investigates how local populations respond to changing environmental conditions and what forms of adaptation are emerging in these coastal areas. This interest developed during her Master’s degree in Geography at the University of Hamburg, where she focused on human-environment interactions and adaptation processes. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Oldenburg, where she gained a broad interdisciplinary understanding of ecological systems and environmental challenges.

Department of Physical Geography
Faculty of Geosciences
Utrecht University

https://www.uu.nl/staff/FEDunn

With a background in fluvial sediment numerical modelling, Dr. Frances is currently researching sediment-based adaptation to relative sea-level rise in coastal river deltas around the world. Sediment can be used to raise delta elevations, so she studies methods to encourage sedimentation and system-scale implication of these kinds of adaptations.

Dr. Kathrine Valdez Maxwell
Postdoctoral researcher
Senckenberg am Meer Wilhelmshaven
Marine Research Department

https://www.senckenberg.de/de/institute/sam/meeresforschung/fb/aktuopalaeontologie/aktuopalaeontologie-team/

Dr. Katherine Maxwell is a geoscientist specializing in coastal geology and geomorphology, with a focus on past sea-level changes and coastal hazards in a changing climate. Using field surveys, laboratory analysis, geospatial data, and numerical modeling, she reconstructs paleoenvironments and analyzes coastal evolution since the Quaternary. With an interdisciplinary background, Katherine is dedicated to bridging the gap between scientific research and policy to support effective climate adaptation in vulnerable regions.

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PhD Candidate and Research Associate
Geoecology research group
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM)
University of Oldenburg

I am a PhD candidate within the WADWAD project, exploring the potential of transdisciplinary processes for developing sustainable and ecosystem-based coastal adaptation strategies in the Wadden Sea region.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Coastal and Marine Management from Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, followed by a double Master’s degree in Water and Coastal Management from the Universities of Oldenburg and Groningen, with a focus on environmental and infrastructure planning.

My work approaches coastal systems from a social science perspective, with a focus on how diverse interests, values, and stakeholder perspectives shape governance processes, decision-making, and the joint creation of knowledge for sustainable coastal management.

Within WADWAD, I contribute to the work which focuses on transdisciplinary knowledge generation. This includes for example designing and facilitating stakeholder workshops and focus groups across Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Supporting the development and implementation of an evaluation framework for transdisciplinary processes in coastal adaptation planning. And leading the evaluation of the transdisciplinary process, including stakeholder engagement and co-creation outcomes.

Department of Physical Geography
Faculty of Geoscience
Utrecht University

https://www.uu.nl/staff/JBulens

Jelle Bulens is from Belgium and holds a BSc in Geography from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an MSc in Earth Sciences from Utrecht University, specializing in coastal and river systems.  Jelle is especially interested in coastal and river systems (water and sediments) and the coupling between social and physical geography (humans and their relation to sediments). After almost 3 years as a Junior Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, he returned to Utrecht to join the WADWAD project as a PhD candidate, supervised by Jaap Nienhuis, Francess Dunn and Marjolijn Haasnoot. Jelle will be working on WP2, where he will be modelling and investigating the geomorphological effects of coastal adaptation options in land-sea transition zones.

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