Executive Board
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President: Mario Giampietro
Mario Giampietro is ICREA Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). He works on integrated assessment of sustainability. Using innovative concepts derived from Complex Systems Theory (multi-purpose grammars, impredicative loop analysis, Sudoku effects), he developed an innovative scientific approach, Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), that can be used to integrate different narratives used in quantitative analysis. This approach makes it possible to generate quantitative representations of the viability and desirability of the metabolic pattern of modern societies using simultaneously technical, economic, demographic, social and ecological variables defined on different hierarchical levels and scales.
Full CV here
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Vice-president: Jesús Ramos Martín
Jesús Ramos-Martín (Ph.D. Environmental Sciences (UAB, Spain); MSc Environmental Management (UAB, Spain); MA Environmental Politics (Keele, UK); MPhil Ecological Economics (Keele, UK) is an ecological economist with expertise in the field of economic development and evolution of human systems from a biophysical point of view, by applying concepts from energy analysis, thermodynamics and complex systems theory. He also has expertise in ecotourism, societal metabolism, integrated environmental assessment, and social multi-criteria evaluation. Currently he is assistant professor at the Department of Economics and Economic History and researcher at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Previous posts include consultant for the regional Government of Catalonia on energy issues, researcher at the Institute for Social Ecology (IFF-SOCEC) in Vienna, researcher at the Italian National Institute for Research on Food and Nutrition, and lecturer at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, and FLACSO Ecuador. His research has strong links with Latin America, where he is part of the Organising Committee of the Biannual Iberoamerican Congress on Development and Environment, and has been Editor of the Iberoamerican Journal of Ecological Economics.
Full CV here
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Secretary: Tarik Serrano
Tarik is a PhD candidate at ICTA-UAB with a Research and Teaching Fellowship from the Spanish Government (FPU). He is currently working on the development of methods for the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach. He has been particularly focused in the integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and multi-scaling properties into the scientific representation proposed by MuSIASEM. He is also interested in the development of integrated analytical approaches to rural systems and energy networks. He has experience working on rural systems with cases in South India, Laos and Guatemala, and with projects concerning the analysis at different scales of developed countries in two EU projects. Recently, he has been working at the Pennsylvania State University on an analysis of the patterns of US energy consumption.
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Treasurer: Sandra Bukkens
Sandra Bukkens holds a degree in Human Nutrition from Wageningen University (NL), and has international experience at the Rowett Research Institute (UK, 1988-1989) and Cornell University (USA, 1992-1995). With the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione (Rome, Italy) she took part in projects in Ethiopia (1990), on adaptation to seasonal food shortages; in P.R. China (1995-1996), on integrated analysis of the effects on sustainability of the intensification of agriculture in China; and in a European Project on multi-criteria evaluation of the quality of the food system of modern societies (1998-2001). She has published on a wide range of food-related subjects on internationally refereed journals. Her scientific expertise covers human metabolism, characterization of sustainability and performance of food systems in relation to different dimensions of analysis, and non-conventional protein sources (entomophagy). She has experience in the organization of international conferences, workshops and summer schools.
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Founding members:
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Pere Ariza-Montobbio
Pere is a researcher working in the fields of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology. His research focuses on Societal Metabolism and Ecological Distribution Conflicts and Environmental Justice. He is currently working on interdisciplinary research on the relationships between energy and land use governance. His focus is on “The Environmental Justice of electricity metabolism of Catalonia” combining an analysis of inequalities in generation and consumption of electricity in both rural and urban areas of Catalonia. By doing so, he combines the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) and quantitative and qualitative methodologies used in Environmental Justice research.
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Alevgul Sorman
Alev has completed her PhD in September 2011, and is currently working as a researcher within the Integrated Assessment group at ICTA-UAB with Prof. Mario Giampietro. Within the scope of her PhD, her main focus has been to investigate the “Energetic Metabolism of Societies” applying the specific approach of the Multi Scale Integrated assessment for Societal and Ecosystem Analysis (MuSIASEM). Alevgul completed her BSc in Environmental Engineering at the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey with a period spent abroad at Rice University – Houston, Texas, USA. She completed her masters in 2007, with an MSc degree in LUMES – Lund University International Master’s Programme in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science, Lund, Sweden. During her PhD, she has also spent time collaborating with the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in Rome, Italy. In 2012, she has participated in the 24th Ship for World Youth (SWY) Programme.
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Ordinary members:
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François Diaz Maurin
François is an engineer with expertise in large-scale infrastructure projects in the French and the US nuclear industries. He recently joined the Integrated Assessment group of ICTA-UAB and works with Dr. Mario Giampietro on the energy supply issues. Within the main topics of societal metabolism and energy transitions, his research deals with the application of the MuSIASEM approach (Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism) to the discussion about alternative energy sources. In particular, his PhD dissertation focuses on assessing the viability and desirability of nuclear energy by developing a new protocol to compare the quality of different alternative energy sources.
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Zora Kovacic
Zora is a PhD candidate at ICTA-UAB and works on science for governance, with focus on the quality control of sustainability indicators. She is interested in the integration of participatory methods and quantitative analysis in support of decision-making processes. Her previous research includes the study of the societal metabolism of water in Israel, with particular attention to issues of access to and distribution of water. She holds a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH). She also holds a Bachelor in Economics and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), UK.
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Cristina Madrid
Cristina is about to complete her PhD thesis at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the UAB, under the supervision of Mario Giampietro and Jesús Ramos Martín. Her research focuses on the definition of water and its role in the development and maintenance of societies. It is founded in Complex Systems and Resource Theories. With the support of Input-Output and GIS techniques, her research proposes a systemic way of assessing the sustainability of water use and its application to Spain. She was granted a FPU Fellowship for the completion of this research. Since her arrival at ICTA in 2005, Cristina has worked in different EU projects dealing with Water Management, such as 'LIFE Water Agenda', 'Matisse', 'Aquamed', 'CREPE' and 'Sharing Water and Environmental Values: Peace Construction Efforts in Cyprus', and has been visiting PhD student in Twente University (with Arjen Hoekstra) and King's College London (with Tony Allan). She also holds a BSc in Environmental Sciences, a Postgraduate Diploma in International Rural Policy Studies, and an MSc in Ecological Economics.
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