Dr. Laura Woltersdorf


Researcher

 

 

Research focus

  • Methods of transdisciplinary research
  • Participatory modelling
  • Bayesian Networks

 

Curriculum Vitae

Since 10/2015
Researcher (Post-Doc) at the Hydrology Research Group, Goethe-University Frankfurt

03/2011 - 02/2016
PhD at the Faculty of Geosciences/Geography of Goethe-University Frankfurt, "Evaluating alternative water sources and their use for small-holder agriculture from a systemic perspective. A focus on water reuse and rainwater harvesting in Namibia."

03/2011 – 09/2015
Researcher in the research unit water infrastructure and risk analyses at the Institute for Social-Ecological Research ISOE, Frankfurt

05/2009 – 02/2011
Research assistant at the Institute for Social-Ecological Research ISOE, Frankfurt

10/2008 – 12/2010
Master (M.Sc.) in Environmental Sciences at the Goethe-University Frankfurt. Master thesis: “Sustainability of rainwater harvesting systems used for gardening in the context of climate change and IWRM. An example from the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in Namibia.”

09/2002 – 07/2006
Diploma in International Business Administration (IBA), FH Wiesbaden. Diploma thesis: “Agriculture in the transition process of Central Asian Republics with a particular emphasis on the Kyrgyz Republic”

01 – 06/2005
Erasmus Semester at the Institut des Hautes Études Économiques et Commerciales INSEEC, Bordeaux, France

 

Publications

Woltersdorf, L., Lang, P., Döll, P. (2018): How to set up a transdisciplinary research project in Central Asia: description and evaluation. Sustainability Science. doi: 10.1007/s11625-018-0625-7.

Zimmermann, M., Woltersdorf, L., Felmeden, J., Müller, K. (2018): Water reuse for agricultural irrigation. In: Liehr, S., Kramm, L., Jokisch, A., Müller, K. (Eds.). Integrated Water Resources Management in water-scarce regions. Water harvesting, groundwater desalination and water reuse in Namibia. IWA Publishing, London. p. 42-51. ISBN: 9781780407906.

Zimmermann, M., Woltersdorf, L. (2018): Evaluation of sustainability. In: Liehr, S., Kramm, L., Jokisch, A., Müller, K. (Eds.). Integrated Water Resources Management in water-scarce regions. Water harvesting, groundwater desalination and water reuse in Namibia. IWA Publishing, London. p. 70-80. ISBN: 9781780407906.

Woltersdorf, L., Zimmermann, M., Deffner, J., Gerlach, M., Liehr, S. (2018): Benefits of an integrated water and nutrient reuse system for urban areas in semi-arid developing countries. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 128, 382–393.

Woltersdorf, L., (2016): Evaluating alternative water sources and their use for smallholder agriculture from a systemic perspective. A focus on water reuse and rainwater harvesting in Namibia. Frankfurt Hydrology Paper 15. Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Woltersdorf, L., Scheidegger, R., Liehr, S., Döll, P. (2016): Municipal water reuse for urban agriculture in Namibia: Modeling nutrient and salt flows as impacted by sanitation user behavior. Journal of Environmental Management, 169, 272 284. DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.12.025.

Woltersdorf, L., Liehr, S., Scheidegger, R., Döll, P. (2015): Small-scale water reuse for urban agriculture in Namibia: Modeling water flows and productivity. Urban Water Journal, 12(5), 414-429. doi: 10.1080/1573062X.2014.900691.
There is a corrigendum: Urban Water Journal, 12(8), 691. doi: 10.1080/1573062X.2014.938295.

Woltersdorf, L., Liehr, S., Döll, P. (2015): Rainwater harvesting for small-holder horticulture in Namibia: Design of garden variants and assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation. Water, 7, 1402-1421. DOI: 10.3390/w7041402.

Woltersdorf, L., Jokisch, A., Kluge, T. (2014): Benefits of rainwater harvesting for gardening and implications for future policy in Namibia. Water Policy 16 (1), 124–143. DOI: 10.2166/wp.2013.061.

 

Awards

Transformative Science Research Prize 2017