Biography

Eva received a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University of Technology. During her bachelors, she did a minor Water Engineering and Management. She liked it that much that she decided to switch to the MSc Water Management.

Her master thesis was about the relationship between Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) disposal patterns and FOG deposits in sewer systems. She then developed her interest in the interaction between people and technology, especially for large infrastructure systems like urban water systems.

Research

In February 2017, Eva started as a PhD candidate. Her research project focuses on integrated approaches to urban water management.

Urban water systems are seriously threatened by global changes like climate change, population growth and urbanization: changing weather patterns, increasing anthropogenic activities and more impervious surfaces lead to degradation of environmental quality and increased risk of urban flooding. In addition, existing urban water infrastructure is deteriorating, and resource limitations and tightening regulations further challenge urban water management. The ongoing changes put pressure on service levels for urban water systems. To prepare these systems for the future, an integrated approach is needed, involving other disciplines and sectors, like urban planning, transportation and energy.

In her research, Eva investigates what such an integrated approach exactly is, how it is used, as well as how it is organized. She introduced the concept of Urban Water Systems Integration and looks at this concept from different perspectives.  

Eva’s PhD project is a collaboration between the departments of Water Management (Civil Engineering) and Multi-Actor Systems (Technology Policy Management). She is working with Hans de Bruijn (Organization & Governance), Jeroen Langeveld (Sanitary Engineering), and Eefje Cuppen (previously working at the section Organization & Governance and now professor at the Institute of Public Administration at Leiden University).

Read more