Sea levels will rise. We will experience drought summers more often. We will be dealing with heavy rain more frequently. Flood protection will become increasingly important for coastal cities like Lübeck.
For Prof. Edgar Nehlsen, these assessments are not alarmism, but realism – and the starting signal for action. The 44-year-old is the first hydraulic engineering professor in Germany to specialize in hydraulic engineering close to nature in the denomination. Together with many colleagues he is looking in the Applied Water Research Group for concrete solutions to the upcoming challenges surrounding the topic of water. At the TH Lübeck, we think of the research area of hydraulic engineering as an interdisciplinary systems science
says Nehlsen.
Cooperation, interdisciplinarity and lots of exchange
As part of my professorship for natural hydraulic engineering, I would like to contribute to the modern training of young engineers, develop sustainable and holistic solutions for practical questions in natural hydraulic engineering and promote the acquisition and implementation of corresponding research activities
Nehlsen lists the goals for the next few years. In addition to applied research and practice-oriented teaching, his tools are, above all, cooperation, interdisciplinarity and a lot of exchange in both teaching and research.
River and coastal hydraulic engineering, water management, hydrology and port planning
Nehlsen, who was born in Lübeck, studied civil engineering and environmental technology at the TU Hamburgthen became a research assistant at the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering in Hamburg, where from 2014 he was senior engineer responsible for various research and teaching formats. His doctorate with Prof. Peter Fröhle on the Hydraulic system analysis to assess the effects of climate change on tidal backwaters he graduated in 2016. He then taught at the TU Hamburg and worked as a senior research assistant in projects in river and coastal hydraulic engineering, water management, hydrology and port planning.
Adaptations to the consequences of climate change
Thanks to many long-term collaborations, he has excellent contacts with the regional economy, with institutions from the local to the federal level, as well as with national and international research partners. Nehlsen has been working as an expert in the field of hydraulic engineering and as a training consultant for years Association of Engineers for Water Management, Waste Management and Cultural Construction (BWK) in the Schleswig-Holstein regional association. He is a member of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) and the Port Technical Society (HTG) eV. In his free time he does volunteer work, including being a member of the Lübeck-Schönböcken Volunteer Fire Department.
Understand theoretical fundamentals and develop practical solutions
Nehlsen is the head of the bachelor’s program Civil engineeringits mission statement is characterized by an activating teaching style to best impart and deepen knowledge. The link between teaching and research is close: for example, in the hydromechanics module Hydraulic engineering laboratory experiments, documented and calculated, then in the hydraulic engineering module, directly measured and observed on site – e.g. at the Niemarker Landgraben – and also planned the natural design. The aim is for students to be able to place the hydraulic engineering topics in a higher-level context and to internalize the awareness of interdisciplinary approaches and integrated thinking required for modern hydraulic engineering
says Nehlsen. We need holistic solutions, not individual optimization.
Think about ecology: return water bodies to a state similar to nature
His plans for teaching and research revolve around adapting to the consequences of climate change: flood protection and water management in river areas and coastal zones, water management in lowland areas and hydro- and morphodynamics of near-natural waters. Nehlsen’s goal is to develop sustainable concepts and concrete solution ideas for current hydraulic engineering issues.
An integrated view is absolutely necessary for this, as temporal and spatial effects in the context of different uses must be taken into account
says Nehlsen. Fortunately, there has been a change here in recent years: Until a few decades ago, the heading was: Cultural building While the agricultural and forestry benefits are still predominantly in the foreground, it is now important to always take the issue of ecology into account. That’s what they demand too Water Framework Directive. I return bodies of water to a natural state
he says. And these assessments are not optimism, but realism.