People

University of Cadi Ayyad (Coordinator)

Professor AZIZ Faissal is currently an Associate Professor at Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco. He is also the director of the Laboratory of Water and Environment in the National Center on Study and Research on Water and Energy, Cady Ayyad University (Morocco). Prof. AZIZ is widely recognized for promoting new technologies in four key areas: wastewater treatment and reuse, alternative adsorption technologies, superabsorbents hydrogel development for smart irrigation, and solid waste valorization on nanomaterials synthesis. In addition, he was nearly a decade into a 10-year teaching career at Cadi Ayyad University. Dr. AZIZ has written more than 100 publications, and He coordinates many research projects on wastewater treatment and biomaterial engineering in collaboration with national and international partners

University of Florence (Partner 2)

Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Italy. Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry (149 papers, 4860 citations, H-index 38, based on Scopus)
Main activities: Research on: (i) innovative methodological approaches for the analysis of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in environmental matrices using chromatography hyphenated with mass spectrometry, (ii)  CEC monitoring in the environment, (iii) recycling biological sludge for the production of carbon materials intended to be used in wastewater treatment; (iii) wastewater treatment for reuse applications.
Teaching in courses on environmental and analytical chemistry.

Edgardo Giordani is Associate Professor of perennial horticulture at the Department of Horticulture of the University of Florence and Coordinator of the Master Course in Natural Resources Management for Tropical Rural Development.  His area of research regards, among others, the management of genetic resources and breeding of fruit tree species, the use of remediated sediments and treated wastewaters in agricultural production, and the effect of new substrates on the quantitative and qualitative performance of model crops, among which strawberry, pomegranate and olive. He has been involved as participant and coordinator in several national and international research projects.

University of Turin (Partner 3)

Maria Concetta Bruzzoniti is a full professor of environmental chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Turin. She is an expert in water issues (analysis of priority and emerging compounds, remediation, and water reuse). Currently responsible for research units in three international and one regional research projects concerning the characterization, safety, and reuse of water for agricultural purposes.
She has actively collaborated with the Waterwork structures of Turin (Italy) since 1997. Overall, her scientific activity turned out in 117 ISI-impacted scientific publications and 6 book chapters (3 international and 3 national chapters).

Luca Rivoira is a researcher at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Turin. His research activities are mainly focused on the assessment of environmental and food contamination by microplastics, on the synthesis and application of ceramic materials to environmental issues, as well as on the development of analytical methods for the determination of emerging contaminants in environmental and food matrices. Finally, he also deals with data collection and processing through chemometric approaches and design of experiments.

Overall, his scientific activity turned out in 42 ISI-impacted scientific publications and 1 book chapter.

Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (Partner 4)

Dr. Jens Christian Nejstgaard heads the research group “Zooplankton Ecology” at the Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology in Stechlin, Germany, at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB-IGB). He studied trophic interactions of marine and freshwater plankton in complex natural plankton food webs for almost four decades. Dr. Nejstgaard developed novel methodological approaches for in situ observations such as image-based zooplankton video and the first molecular approaches that allow quantification of the trophic interactions of zooplankton. Dr. Nejstgaard has led and contributed to more than 50 studies using mesocosms and published in high-ranking journals. Dr. Nejstgaard led EU projects MESOAQUA, AQUACOSM and AQUACOSM-plus, involving scientists from all over the world. With his experience in European science policy and networking various research infrastructures, he is well qualified to lead the FVB-IGB team in CYCLOLIVE.

Dr. Stella Angela Berger heads the research group “Phytoplankton Ecology” in the Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology in Stechlin, Germany, at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB-IGB). She also chairs the Competence and Technology Platform “LakeLab”, a large-scale research facility in Lake Stechlin, where she leads the scientific coordination of large-scale mesocosm experiments with over 60 people per experiment. Dr. Berger has 25 years of
experience with mesocosm experiments in limnic, brackish and marine pelagic experiments focusing on multiple stressor effects on plankton organisms and their interactions. Dr.Berger's expertise in mesocosm-based research, as well as in plankton analysis using image- based flow cytometry (FlowCam) and microscopy, is central to the planned experiments in CYCLOLIVE (WP2).

Dr. Ayoub El Ghadraoui ´s expertise ranges from the characterization of pollution associated with wastewater from olive oil production to appropriate treatment methods focusing on the innovative use of pozzolan-filled constructed wetlands to treat wastewater. He contributed to studies on different systems for olive oil production wastewater treatment and the reuse of treated wastewater in cultivation trials. Dr. El Ghadraoui worked on various environmental topics (e.g. sustainability, adsorption materials, wastewater treatment, micropollutants) and developed methods for the characterization and fate of micropollutants in various environmental matrices. He has contributed to the implementation and optimization of decision support tools (DST) such as the FAO AquaCrop software. Dr. El Ghadraoui's experience in European project management and his multidisciplinary expertise is crucial for the CYCLOLIVE project and will strengthen the presence of FVB-IGB in environment-related fields.

Spanish National Research Council (Partner 5)

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University of Jordan (Partner 6)

Emad Al-Karablieh is a distinguished expert in agricultural, water, and natural resource management, with significant expertise in drought management, water economics, environmental sustainability, and agricultural risk assessment. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Agribusiness Management from Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel, Germany. Prof. Al-Karablieh has spearheaded over 50 multidisciplinary projects addressing drought resilience, water optimization, decentralized wastewater treatment, and climate adaptation. With over 100 peer-reviewed publications, he has contributed to regional water studies and developed innovative methodologies for managing agricultural and natural resources under changing climatic conditions. He has collaborated with governments and international organizations such as UNDP, USAID, FAO, and GIZ to address critical water and agricultural challenges. His expertise includes financial modeling, investment appraisals, and the integration of renewable energy for sustainable water management. He has advised on improving water productivity, optimizing irrigation systems, and implementing innovative technologies for agricultural sustainability. His leadership in developing decision-support systems for drought monitoring and resource allocation demonstrates his ability to address complex challenges effectively.

MetaMeta Anatolia (Partner 7)

Şükrü Esin is a researcher currently pursuing a PhD at the Soil Science Faculty in Harran University, with a focus on sustainable agriculture and environmental solutions. He has developed expertise in irrigation technologies and hydrogel-related products for soilless greenhouse farming. He is currently coordinating the Prima-Med funded MED4PEST project, contributing to regional efforts in sustainable pest management.

University of Sfax (Partner 8)

•     Agricultural Engineer in Plant Biotechnology
•     Associate Professor in Genetics and Molecular Virology in the Faculty of Science, University of Sfax since 2001, he has been teaching Genetics, Virology, Plant Pathogen Interaction & Phytopathology. LBVAAC member.
•     Coordinator of EU projects (SMOT, MedSNAIL, MEDUSE and BenefitMEd).
•     NCP (National Contact Point) for Horizon Europe Cl6 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources,
•     Agriculture and Environment

Research activities: impact of biotic/abiotic stresses on plants and related biological/physiological/molecular mechanisms and RNA biology (viroid as a model).

University of Lorraine (Partner 9)

Dr. Mohammed Khalij is an Associate Professor in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering at Polytech Nancy, Lorraine University, France. He is responsible for the Mechanics of Fluids and Energy program at Polytech Nancy and teaches Energy and CFD. Specializing in Computational Fluid Dynamics, his research includes energy storage, desalination, particle-flow interactions, hydrogen combustion, and high-pressure, low-temperature supersonic jets. He has led several projects, including PHC Maghreb and ANR, and is affiliated with the LEMTA Laboratory (UMR 7563). Dr. Khalij has published around 40 articles in leading international journals and conferences.

Dr. Abdelhamid KHEIRI is an associate professor at the University of Lorraine (Polytech Nancy). He is a member of the LEMTA research laboratory and is currently supervising five
theses in the field of Energy and environment. He is in charge of an engineering master degree in energy and environment at the Polytech Nancy at the University of Lorraine. His research focuses on energy and heat transfer: energy storage, energy efficiency, optimization of energy systems, exergy and thermoeconomics. He has published more than 100 articles in scientific journals and conferences. He won a gold medal at an international invention and innovation exposition.