Invited Speakers
Welcome to our HWRS 2026 presenters. Explore the expertise and insights of our invited speakers, with further announcements to come. Stay tuned for updates as we continue to build an outstanding program.
Prof. Holger Maier
Munro Oration Speaker
Professor, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide
Read full biography here
Holger is Professor of Environmental Engineering at Adelaide University and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. His research interests are in developing and applying methods that result in sustainable outcomes, especially when dealing with complex systems in uncertain environments. Examples of this include the development of decision support systems for long-term disaster risk reduction under a range of plausible futures, the development of innovative climate risk assessment and adaptation methods for water systems, the development of adaptive approaches to urban stormwater management using smart technologies and the development of innovative approaches and decision support tools for achieving the renewable energy transition in a sustainable manner. This includes elements of modelling (with a particular focus on AI and machine learning), optimisation (with a particular focus on evolutionary algorithms) and decision support (with a particular focus on strategic planning under deep uncertainty). Holger is a Fellow of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand and a recipient of the Biennial Medals of the International Environmental Modelling and Simulation Society and the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Dr. Ellis Penning
Keynote Speaker
Expert on Nature-based Solutions and Aquatic Ecology
Read full biography here
Dr. Ellis Penning is an expert in the field of Nature Based Solutions and ecohydraulic research. She leads the research programme on Nature Based Solutions and carries out a variety of projects related to this subject. An ecologist by training, Ellis Penning is specifically focussing on the role of vegetation in aquatic systems, both from a flood risk and environmental quality point of view.
Providing new evidence via measured data from both field and flume experiments on the interaction between vegetation and its surrounding environment helps to create a better understanding and provide the basis for better management of these systems. The linking of this experimental data with new model developments for predicting the impact of vegetation for both flood risk management and environmental quality is a key aspect of her work. She is the Deltares project lead for various projects that specifically provide this linkage, such as the Ecoshape Pilot on Vegetated Sandy Foreshores along the Houtribdijk in the large shallow Lake Markermeer and the project on the assessment of the role of woody floodplain vegetation in reducting wave impact on the dikes along parts of the Rhine river. In the Dotterproject she is developing new techniques for spatial mapping of vegetation in flowing waters using new monitoring techniques including full spectrum camera’s on Unmanned Areal Vehicles to provide water managers with more accurate insight in the amount and location of vegetation in their area to improve the management of this vegetation for both flood risk management and ecological values.Ellis Penning active in various EU projects such as the MARS and Hydralab projects and has extensive experience in international cooperation both in Europe and Asia. At present she is the co-chair of the International Steering Committee of the River Experiment Centre of the Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and leads the Deltares contribution to the joint project on vegetated flows in this unique large outdoor flume facility.
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