Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISISenior research and coordinator of the interdisciplinary research group “Transformation and innovation systems for urban areas“
Dr. Susanne Bieker has been working as a researcher and project manager in the Water Resources Management Business Unit of the Competence Center Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems since 2018. Her main areas of research are in the fields of urban water systems, the interfaces between different technical infrastructure systems with a focus on urban contexts, options for using blue and green infrastructure in urban contexts, and urban transformation processes. She also coordinates the interdisciplinary group “Transformation and Innovation Systems for Urban Areas“at ISI, which combines the research competencies across all CCs with an interest in urban areas.
Previously, Dr. Bieker worked for the GIZ (German development agency) on the sector program “Sustainable sanitation supply“. Her activities included providing scientific and strategic advice to the BMZ and working on bilateral projects with a spatial focus on Central and East Africa and the MENA region.
From 2003 until 2009, she worked at the IWAR institute of the TU Darmstadt as a scientific researcher in the “Environmental and spatial planning“ group, where she completed a PhD in the department of Civil Engineering and Geodesy in 2009. She then headed the research group SEMIZENTRAL at IWAR from 2009 to 2015, working on the development of integrated grid-bound infrastructure systems for use in rapidly growing urban areas. As a spatial planning graduate, she also previously worked in consulting for KoRis Hannover, where she dealt with impacts, regional cooperation and actions in the context of demographic change.
In addition, Dr.-Ing. Bieker is a member of the DWA working group BIZ 11.1 "Decentralised wastewater management and emerging economies", was previously a member of the WG 1.4 "System integration" for many years, is a member of the IfR and works as an expert for international research funds. She is also head of the cross-cutting topic "Transformation and Innovation Systems of Urban Areas", which combines the competences of all CCs at the Fraunhofer ISI with a research interest in urban areas.