On 1st of April 2022 Pascale Rouault, our Urban Systems Department Leader and Bodo Weigert, our Administration & Business Development Department Leader, are leaving us after 15 years.

Pascale has played a decisive role in shaping and advancing KWB. When asked about her experience at KWB, she explains her overall fascination that it is possible to fly to the moon, but that at the same time, water research in the city still holds so many secrets. “For me, the time at KWB means 15 years of working with curious, lovely colleagues, meeting great people from all over the world, exploring and advancing many facets of water, and linking aspects such as sustainability, climate adaptation, resilience, health, and resource protection.” Pascale will be working for Hamburg Wasser.

Bodo led our Administration Team and simultaneously held KWB together and propelled it forward over the last years. Bodo describes KWB as one of the few water research centres that deal with all the current challenges of water management in a very practical and comprehensive way. He enjoyed the enormous development in recent years and he emphasizes the special importance and reputation of KWB in the international water research scene. “I really appreciated the close interdisciplinary cooperation with and in the teams and the willingness to think outside the box.” Bodo will be working for Berliner Wasserbetriebe - so we will remain next door neighbours.

At the same time, we’re truly excited to welcome Dr. David Steffelbauer into our ranks. David will lead our newly established Hydroinformatics group from May onwards, aligning and expanding our already excellent skills and services in the digital water space. He will add his unique skills to the KWB (e.g. leak detection to just name one) and work with our existing groups to determine how hydroinformatics can solve pressing research questions and challenges within the water cycle. In early May we will further introduce David and our plans around hydroinformatics.