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Manuel finished his Master in Hydrogeology (M.Sc.) at TUM 2014. After working in an engineering company he joined the Chair of Hydrogeology 2016 and started his PhD in the Geothermal working group focusing on shallow geothermal energy.

He defended his PhD thesis with the titel “Local thermal non-equilibrium effects and thermal retardation in natural porous media: Laboratory experiments and numerical modeling“ in 2021 and continued to work as PostDoc in the working group.

We asked Manuel about his time at the Chair of Hydrogeology:

“I really enjoyed my time at the Chair of Hydrogeology and was able to work with a great team there. The experiences as well as the acquired skills and knowledge in shallow geothermal energy, groundwater and heat transport modeling etc. have laid the foundation for my career. In addition to the basic research within the framework of my PhD, I have also worked on various projects on very applied topics such as tunnel geothermal energy, thermal groundwater utilization, geological 3D modeling, etc. with various partners such as water management agencies, Deutsche Bahn, Stadtwerke München and engineering companies and was able to establish contacts here. All of this qualified me for my future position as a project engineer for shallow geothermal energy at Stadtwerke München.”

Fabian Böttcher, a former PhD student at the Chair of Hydrogeology, has made significant contributions to the field of thermal use of groundwater through his research. During his time at the university, Fabian worked on two research projects GRETA (2016 - 2018) and GEO.KW (2019 - 2022) were he developed new methods for assessing the potential of thermal use of groundwater.

Both projects were lead by Chair of Hydrogeology and could be found in the following links:
https://www.cee.ed.tum.de/hydro/projects-completed/greta/
https://www.cee.ed.tum.de/hydro/projects-completed/geokw/

The first project, GRETA, focused on demonstrating the potential of renewable near surface geothermal energy in the Alpine Space and to fostering its integration into future energy plans at different administrative levels. Fabian's research involved developing a method to assess the quatiative potential of thermal groundwater use including all relevant technical and legislative constraints.
The method he developed is based on numerical simulations results that were obtained in parameter studies and used with regression analysis to fit analytical formulae. The broad application of method in spatial energy planning especially throughout bavaria has proofen that it is a valuable tool for assessing the potential of thermal use of groundwater.

The second project GEO.KW, focused on coupling a numerical flow and heat transport model with a linear energy system optimizer in order to evaluate the optimal economic and ecologic feasibility of thermal use of groundwater. Fabian's research involved a study on the subsurface urban heat island below the City of Munich and building a groundwater modelling environment that can be used for the city-wirde and time-efficient generation of numerical groundwater models. Within GEO.KW he additionally developed several optimization procedures for the optimal well placement of thermal uses and the assessment of the spatial potential of thermal groundwater use dependend on the demand structure within an urban environment.

Fabian's research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at international conferences.
Many publications are published open-access and could be found in the following link:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fabian-Boettcher

In 2023, Fabian joined the Department of Climate and Environment Protection of the City of Munich where he continues to work as a hydrogeologist and uses his research to boost the new energy planning and energy strategies of the City with a sustainable integration of thermal use of groundwater. He also continues his work with the Chair of Hydrogeology in several research projects and continues to mentor young PhD-students.

Anne is an environmental engineer by training. After her master’s degree she worked for an engineering consultancy in the drinking water supply. During this work, Anne realized that she would prefer a job with more time to question and understand environmental processes in more detail. Anne then started a PhD in May 2019 at the Chair of Hydrogeology at TUM. She worked in the group of Arno Rein where she applied different modelling methods for water flow and contaminant transport in the subsurface. Furthermore, she was involved in the management of a European Union research project DEEPWATER-CE about managed aquifer recharge. Anne finished her PhD studies in February 2023.

During her PhD work, Anne found that her passion lies in research. Therefore, she will continue her career in academia and will join the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China as a Postdoctoral student. The PhD position at TUM has prepared her well for this career paths as Anne gained insight in scientific work, project management and teaching.

Jan is an experienced Geoscientist with an M.Sc. in Geology from TU and LMU Munich. Since 2012, his professional career has brought him to participate in and lead numerous projects across different geoscientific fields, both in Germany and abroad.

Beginning with his M.Sc. thesis in mineral resource geology on a hydrothermal metal deposit in Greece, Jan has focused on geochemical fieldwork and analytics. While posted in Tajikistan (2016-2018) for the BGR in a BMZ-financed development project, he provided in-depth geoscientific consulting and training for the local geological survey. His work particularly focused on geochemical signatures of REE-bearing pegmatites in the Pamir mountains. At TUM in 2019, Jan’s tasks encompassed the hydrochemical data assessment, fieldwork, analytics and statistics, bringing an additional understanding of the water chemistry to the hydrogeological 3D-modeling project GeoPot in Munich.

At the consulting and earth-observation company GAF AG, Jan has been heavily involved in providing and leading geoscientific and GIS-based solutions in international projects across South-America, Africa, the Near-East, and Central Asia. Clients include the UN, mineral and natural resources governmental agencies, as well as companies from the natural resources sector.

Jan told us:

„I fondly look back on my time in the Geothermal Energy Group at TUM, working on the GeoPot project. I learned a lot, especially on multi-variate statistics and hydrogeology. I will never forget the joy to work in that team of dedicated and extremely competent experts.“

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Florian studied Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (M.Sc.) at the TUM while focussing on hydrogeology and geothermal energy. 

In his master thesis he had the chance to numerically investigate research questions in the context of a deep geothermal project in Weilheim (Southern Bavaria).

Afterwards, Florian worked as scientific employee at the chair of hydrogeology at the TUM for more than two years. He was part of different projects in the field of shallow geothermal energy, large construction projects affecting ground water flow and deep geothermal energy exploration (Dolomitkluft project in Geretsried).

He then started his doctoral studies focussing on the hydraulic impact of fault zones on deep geothermal wells in Southern Germany and especially in the greater area of Munich.

Since 2022, Florian joined a team of reservoir engineers at Stadtwerke München (SWM) working to develop the full potential of deep geothermal energy to provide carbon neutral heating power to the entire city of Munich. 

Florian told us:

“It was a great pleasure to learn so much about hydrogeology and geothermal energy exploration at the TUM. I really enjoyed the work in a motivated and fun team with a great vision, many fascinating cooperations and conferences as well as having great resources to carry out research. This lead me to an awesome position at the SWM (Stadtwerke München) as a geothermal reservoir engineer and the opportunity to help in the fight against climate change!”

Fatemeh did her Master study in Sustainable Resource Management (M.Sc.) with a focuse on two research fields: (a) Soil and water management and (b) Waste management at the Technical University of Munich in Freising (TUM-Campus Weihenstephan). Her Master Thesis was partly performed at the University of Bern (Switzerland). In 2016 she started her PhD-thesis at the Chair of Hydrogeology at TUM with the focus on „Characterizing water flow in vegetated lysimeters“. In addition to the scientific work, she was also part of GeoPot project at the Chair of Hydrogeology-Team for almost 4 years.

Before she left TUM she gave a short interview about her experiences at the Chair of Hydrogeology:

During my studies, I really enjoyed working parallel in different projekts, including practical experience, which has expanded the scope of my knowladge alot. There was a great opportunity for exchange with other international and local academics. I was supported to present the results of my research at the conferences and it was possible to disscuss my research with others, which helped to creat news ideas, to improve my presentation skills, and to establish contacts and network. In 2022 she will successfully finish and defend her PhD-thesis.This interdisciplinary exchange brought me benefits in my current work at the Bavarian Environment Agency (LfU).

At the Chair of Hydrogeology we employ highly qualified people. We promote their scientific and personal development, knowing full well that after PhD they go into different fields and leave TUM.

Alejandra has just finished her PhD in the framework of a DFG research project. Alejandra in now working at Electrochaea GmbH, a consulting in Munich,  with focus on the development of commercially robust solution for utility-scale energy storage, replacement of natural gas, and carbon reuse.

We wish Alejandra a good start for her new carreer.

Florian did his Master in Hydrogeology (M.Sc.) at TUM and was part of the TUM-Chair of Hydrogeology-Team for around 4 years. During this time he performed his PhD thesis with focus on the assessing of the local and regional deep thermal groundwater system below Munich. To reach the goals he has developed a new groundwater dating method using 14-C-DOC.

Now he is working at Hydroisotop, a consulting near Munich.

Patrick has studied Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (M.Sc.) at TUM with focus on hydrogeology and hydrochemistry.

We met him to tell us about his path to success:

The studies gained me practical experience in hydrogeological field work and in groundwater modelling. This experience is important for my current position at the Department of Health and Environment of the City of Munich (RGU). There I head the groundwater group and I am responsible for the groundwater monitoring network of the RGU. The studies at the Chair of Hydrogeology have extremely supported my career in Hydrogeology. A great experience of studying at TUM was the teamwork between the students, tutors and the staff. I think, beside the expertise in Hydrogeology, this really prepares you well for the future because you're probably going to work in a team.

Lisa did her Master in Hydrogeology (M.Sc.) at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland and was part of the TUM-Chair of Hydrogeology-Team from November 2015 until June 2019. She performed her PhD thesis with focus on the assessing of denitrification processes using environmental isotopes and probabilistic modeling.

We asked Lisa before she left our institute:

“During my doctoral studies at the Chair of Hydrogeology (TUM), I gained lots of experience in organizing and conducting field/laboratory work. Moreover, analytical and probabilistic modeling linked with environmental isotopes was a large part of my PhD thesis, which I really enjoyed next to the field/lab work. This interdisciplinary field qualified me for my upcoming job as technical product manager at one of the leading companies for water analytics, WTW (Xylem Analytics). “