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About us

The IEES was founded in 1993, with the idea to bring together experts and conduct Ecological Engineering activities within an international society

Our goals

IEES is a non-profit organization seeking to promote and advance a broad view of Ecological Engineering (working definition of IEES) through these four core activities:

Connect

Facilitate and improve the cooperation between ecologists, engineers and other scientific fields

Exchange

Promote the exchange between scientific and educational organizations, enterprises, and (non-)governmental organizations

Educate

Support the development of a common Ecological Engineering curriculum

Promote

Raise the awareness of Ecological Engineering practice worldwide

Our history

The idea to bring together experts and conduct Ecological Engineering activties within an international society was born at the 1st Conference on Ecological Engineering in Stensund, Sweden in 1991.

The Stensund Ecological Center with its ‘Vattenbruket’, a Wastewater Aquaculture greenhouse demonstrating Ecological Engineering principles of closed nutrient cycles served as a unique crystallization point.

Two years later, in October 1993 the society was officially founded in Utrecht, Netherlands by thirteen engaged participants. The first annual meeting was held in June 1994 in Stangvik, Norway. Since then the network has been spanning widely around the globe with its headquarter today located in Switzerland at ZHAW Wädenswil.

Meet our amazing team

IEES is run by a group of voluntary professionals.

Alexandros Stefanakis IEES

Alexandros Stefanakis, M.Sc., Ph.D.

IEES President
Assistant Professor, School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece

David Finger

IEES Vice President
Assistant Professor, Reykjavik University, Iceland

Raffael Kaenzig

Treasurer
Entrepreneur, Phoster Ltd. Switzerland

Andreas Schoenborn

Lecturer & researcher Zurich University of Applied Science, Institute of Natural Resources Science, Waedenswil, Switzerland

Tjaša Griessler Bulc

Lecturer & researcher University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Health Sciences & Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Tess Thompson

Associate Professor & Turner Faculty Fellow Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA

Mark Dyer

Associate Professor & Turner Faculty Fellow Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA

Become part of the change

Join our cause and become an IEES member

Become part of our worldwide network of ecological engineering enthusiasts and take part in regular conferences, become a co-editor and submit your own lighthouse projects