About Luca van Duren

Dr. Luca A. van Duren is a senior scientist at Deltares. She is a marine ecologist with a background in the interaction between biota, fluid dynamics and sediment. She received her PhD in marine Biology at the University of Groningen and subsequently worked at the Netherlands Institute of ecology in Yerseke (the Netherlands) on projects relating to benthic boundary layer hydrodynamics, ecosystem functioning in systems with shellfish cultures and ecosystem engineering by aquatic species. Since 2008 she has been working at Deltares on a large variety of multidisciplinary integrative projects in marine and coastal waters, ranging from ecosystem restoration and environmental management to modelling tools for aquaculture. The focus of her work is on ecosystem functioning in relation to physical processes (hydrodynamics and sediment movement) and human use.

She currently leads projects relating to the assessment of system effects of large-scale implementation of offshore wind in the southern North Sea. She participates in several national and EU projects, on marine protected areas, nature-inclusive design and multi-use of offshore platforms. She also participates in joint industry projects on enhancing the ecological value of offshore infrastructure.