About
Dr. Gemma Carr
My work focuses on analysing the interactions and coupled feedbacks shaping our water resource systems with the aim of supporting sustainable human and water development over the long-term.
My interest in understanding engineered and natural water systems comes from a simple love of being in and around water. I recognised early on in my education, that interdisciplinarity (integrating theory, methods and data) from different fields of expertise, particularly the social and natural sciences, would be critical to addressing the three basic water challenges – too much water, too little water, too polluted water. Bringing together different understandings and information to address complex research questions often takes a long and winding path, but is incredibly rewarding. Over my 20 year research career, I have pioneered innovative approaches with the aim to advance our understanding of complex process interconnections, I have developed new models to better understand human-water interactions and found novel ways to explore strategies to achieve a sustainable water future.
My work addresses a range of water themes, including wastewater reuse, land management - water quality interactions, sustainable soil management, flood and drought risk and resilience. I endeavour to identify and quantify the social components driving system changes and evaluate actions and interventions holistically, including both conventional, tangible indicators (e.g. economics and productivity, water quality, ecological functioning), and innovative non-tangible indicators (e.g. quality of life, equity and learning), that can give a deeper understanding into how and why our water systems are changing.
Biography
My academic background and research experience has focussed on interdisciplinary work that brings together the natural and social sciences. I have a BSc (hons) in Geology and Physical Geography from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Development and Environment from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a PhD from the School of Human and Environmental Sciences at the University of Reading, UK. For my doctoral studies, I explored the interactions between soil sustainability and soil and water management when reclaimed water (treated waste water) is used for irrigation in Jordan. I moved to Technical University Vienna in 2009, where I coordinated the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems until 2018. Most recently, I collaborated with colleagues at the Technical University Vienna to enhance their water risk and security research programme.
Writing:
I have published 28 scientific articles on a range of water resource management aspects, including promoting water reuse for irrigation, evaluating stakeholder participation in water management, advancing interdisciplinary water research and education, and developing socio-hydrological approaches for addressing water risk and enhancing water security. See Publications.
Evaluating:
2023: Expert Evaluator for Horizon Europe for the call, “Improve the reliability and effectiveness of alternative water resources supply systems and technologies”.
2023: Mid-term project evaluator for Partnerships for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) Project, “Mediterranean wAter management solutions for a sustainable aGriculture supplied by an Online collaborative platform” (MAGO).
2020-2021: Member of the PRIMA Scientific Evaluation Committee for the calls, “Implementing sustainable, integrated management of water resources in the Mediterranean, under climate change conditions” (2020) and “Alleviating Mediterranean water scarcity through adaptive water governance” (2021).
2016 - 2019 : Member of the advisory board for EU Horizon 2020 Project FREEWAT.
Editing:
2020 - ongoing: Associate Editor for AQUA - Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society. Special Issue Editor on, “Building Trust with Stakeholders in Water Supply Management.”
2020 - 2022: Guest Editor for Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences (HESS) journal Special Issue on "Transdisciplinary approaches to hydrology and water resources management."
2020 - ongoing: Associate Editor for Frontiers in Water (Water and Human Systems) and Special Issue Editor: Women in Science, Water and Human Systems (2022), and review editor for Hydrosphere in Frontiers in Earth Science and Frontiers in Built Environment.
2018 - 2021: Editorial Board member for Environmental Research Communications.
Projects and working groups:
2015 - 2019: Austrian Principle Investigator for the project “Participatory planning for more inclusive and sustainable water management in rural Burkina Faso.” (Coordinated by IWMI, funded by ADC).
2014 - 2022: Member of working group on ‘Transdisciplinarity’ (IAHS Panta Rhei Programme on Change in Hydrology and Society).
Teaching and examining:
2010 - 2020: Teaching modules on stakeholder participation and socio-hydrology for MSc courses on Integrated Water Resource Management, TU Vienna, Austria and University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
2021: External examiner for Jessica Bou Nasser, MSc Degree, “The inclusion of marginalized communities in stakeholder engagement for managing human-water systems: the case of Maya Peoples in the Lake Atitán Basin, Guatemala”; McGill University, Canada.
2014: External Examiner for Isabel Cristina Dominguez Rivera, PhD Degree. “A Participatory Model for Holistic Understanding of Environmental and Human Health in Andean Rural Micro-Catchments, the Case of Calabazas”; University of Newcastle, UK.
Prizes:
2008: First prize for best paper and presentation at the International Water Association (IWA) UK National Young Water Professionals Conference, Newcastle University, UK.
2008: First prize for presentation at the IWA International Young Water Professionals Conference, University of California, Berkley, USA. Title: Water reuse for irrigated agriculture in Jordan: The importance of soil management strategies to maintain soil productivity