Michelle van Vliet appointed Professor of Water Quality and Sustainable Water Systems
From 15 July 2024, Michelle van Vliet will be appointed professor of Water Quality and Sustainable Water Systems at the department of Physical Geography at the faculty of Geosciences. “A main challenge that we are facing is how to ensure sufficient water of suitable quality for meeting human demands and healthy ecosystems in our changing world?”
Sufficient availability of water of good quality is vital for humankind and nature. A growing global population increases the demand for water of suitable quality. This is needed for different sectors, such as domestic and industrial uses, as well as agriculture. Furthermore, ecosystems also strongly rely on sufficient water of good quality.
Climate change
Next to these socio-economic developments, climate change and increases in extreme weather events, such as droughts and heatwaves, also directly affect both the availability and quality of water. These developments may increase the gap between the demand and supply of clean water for human uses and nature.
We need to understand the drivers of present and future water quality and water system challenges to identify sustainable water solutions and prevent major threats by too much, too little or too dirty water.
Awards
Van Vliet developed new concepts of water scarcity, including water quality and water technologies, which have been picked up by other research groups internationally. In the face of this, she initiated and led sessions at leading international conferences, served (inter)national committees, contributed to the IPCC report, and was invited as a leading expert by the European Commission and the World Bank. She is also a member of the Utrecht Young Academy, a bridge between young and talented researchers. Van Vliet received various prestige personal grants (e.g. NWO VENI, VIDI, ERC starting grant), and strongly collaborates with other leading groups on water quality and water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus assessment.
Education
Reflecting on her vision on education, van Vliet states: “An interdisciplinary view is essential to provide our students with the adequate expertise and skills to tackle current societal problems. High educated water scientists, consultants, and policy makers with water system and water quality knowledge are urgently needed to address the main challenges that we are facing.”
Together with colleagues, she will teach two new water courses, which aim to provide bachelor and master students with adequate knowledge, skills and attitude to develop sustainable water management solutions in our changing world. She is proud of her PhD students, postdocs, and bachelor and master students she has supervised over the years.
Human right
“I am very happy with my appointment as professor on this important topic. Access to sufficient clean water is a human right, essential for nature, and desperately needed everywhere on earth. I am grateful for the opportunity to develop my own research line over these years and look forward to strengthening it in my new position as professor.”
Dean Wilco Hazeleger on the appointment
“Water quality is of great importance for current and future generations. Michelle van Vliet has developed innovative concepts to monitor water quality. She uses models to create scenarios for the future. With her innovative concepts and models in the field of water quality, she fits in perfectly with the mission of the faculty. She thus contributes to a sustainable future for everyone.”