Dr.-Ing. Ilka Gehrke is the Head of the Department Environment and Resources at Fraunhofer UMSICHT in Oberhausen, Germany. With a Diploma in Environmental Process Engineering from Clausthal-Zellerfeld University of Technology and a Doctoral thesis on "Microsieves - microtechnical production and membrane characterization" from Ruhr University Bochum, Dr. Gehrke has a strong academic background.Dr. Gehrke began their professional career as a research assistant at Fraunhofer UMSICHT in 2001 and has been leading the Environment and Resources department since 2013. They have also been a guest lecturer at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and the University of Duisburg-Essen.Dr. Gehrke is a member of several professional organizations, including the German Water Partnership (GWP), the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA), the Center for Water and Environment (ZWU), and the MERCUR Science Policy Network. Their research interests focus on water management and technology, as well as the energy transition and its impact on water management.