Speakers' profiles

Alper Baba, holds a degree in geology and a doctorate in the field of hydrogeology from the İzmir Institute of Technology. He has 30 years’ experience in hydrogeological, geothermal energy and environmental geology problems in different parts of the world. He teaches and conducted research at the University of Toronto (Canada), Wayne State University (USA), United Nations University (Iceland), Economy University and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (Turkey). Since 2010 he has been a professor at Izmir Institute of Technology as a director of Department of International Water Resources. 

He is teaching and conducting research in the field of groundwater contamination, geothermal energy, and hydrogeology. He has coordinated a variety of national and international R&D projects in co-operation with research institutes and companies, among them NATO, Word Bank, and EBRD funded projects. Dr. Baba was awarded the “Successful Young Scientists Award” of Turkish Academy of Science and the Turkish Geological Engineering Association “Gold Medal Award”. 

Dr. Baba is the author of several peer-reviewed scientific publications and contributions to international conferences and is editor of the book “Groundwater and Ecosystems”, “Climate Change and its Effects on Water Resources, Issues of National and Global Security” (NATO Science Series, Springer), “Geothermal Systems and Energy: Turkey and Greece” (CRC Press) and Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): The Future Energy-Road Ahead(CRC Press).

Vesna Ristic Vakanjac is employed at the Faculty of Mining and Geology, University od Belgrade. She has 35 years of professional experience in the field of hydrogeology and hydrology, hydrological analyses of hydrometheorological series, analyses, simulations and predictions of spring flow regime (quantitative and qualitative parameters), statistical methods in hydrogeology, regression analyses and correlation in hydrogeology and water balance of groundwater in karst terrains.

Steve Thornton is a contaminant hydrogeologist and Professor of Environmental Engineering Science at the University of Sheffield, UK. He has over 30 years experience in the field, with research interests that include the biodegradation of organic compounds in groundwater, sustainable management approaches for contaminated soil and groundwater, innovative assessment methodologies for contaminated field sites and the application of reactive transport modelling for soil and groundwater restoration. Steve has published widely in the discipline and delivered advanced professional development training on various topics to private and public sector organisations. He has also been an external advisor for the development of technical guidance on various groundwater restoration and management concepts for the Environment Agency in the UK, and has contributed to the development of industry best practice guidance on groundwater restoration. Steve has coordinated many national and international projects focused on soil and groundwater contamination problems, and is an Associate Editor for the international journals Groundwater, and Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation.