UNU Experts

Expert Senior Researcher

Dr. Adriaan van Zon

Adriaan van Zon is a Senior Researcher at UNU-MERIT.

Expert Researcher

Michaella Vanore is a research fellow at UNU-MERIT and holds a secondment to Maastricht University's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where she is programme director of the BSc Global Studies programme.

Expert Research Associate

Andrea Ortiz Vargas

Andrea is a research associate at the EVES Division, where she supports the FloodAdapt project and UNU-EHS Flagship Report project, in both being the focus of her research: Nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction in central Viet Nam.

Expert PhD Fellow

Elke Verhaeghe

Elke Verhaeghe is a PhD Fellow at UNU-CRIS.

Expert Research Associate

Asha Verma

Asha Verma is working at UNU-FLORES as Research Associate (KlimaKonform).

Expert Professorial Fellow

Prof. Dr. Bart Verspagen

Bart Verspagen is professor of the Macroeconomics of Innovation and New Technologies.

Expert Assistant Professor

Dr. Fabiana Visentin

Fabiana Visentin is an Assistant Professor at UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University, School of Business and Economics

Expert Senior Fellow (Non-Resident)

Janani Vivekananda

Janani Vivekananda is a Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research and serves as the Head of Programme, Climate Diplomacy and Security at Adelphi, Berlin.

Expert PhD Programme Coordinator (full-time track)

Julia Walczyk

Julia joined the PhD Office of UNU-MERIT in March 2022, where she took up a coordinating & supporting role in the management and integration of the PhD Programme.

Expert Project Manager

Florian Waldschmidt

Florian is a Project Manager in the Climate Risk Analytics Team within MCII. Much of his work and research as an economist focuses on the analysis of monetary and non-monetary impacts of natural hazards.

Expert Senior Scientist for Sustainable Finance

Matthias Walz

Matthias Walz is a Senior Scientist for Sustainable Finance at UNU-FLORES.

Expert Head of EVES Division

Dr. Yvonne Walz

Dr. Yvonne Walz is the Head of the Environmental Vulnerability and Ecosystem Services (EVES) division of UNU-EHS.

Expert Development and Partnership Liaison

Chuting Wang

Chuting (Ivy) Wang is active in promoting international education, encouraging joint interdisciplinary research, and strengthening cross-cultural academic ties with a strong focus on sustainability, especially in the Global South.

Expert Associate Professor

Dr. Lili Wang

Lili Wang is an Associate Professor of Emerging Technologies at UNU-MERIT.

Expert Senior Visiting Fellow

Narelle Warren 

Narelle Warren is Senior Visiting Fellow at UNU-IIGH. She is an internationally recognised medical anthropologist and health sociologist specialising in interdisciplinary ethnographic research exploring the experiences of health, illness and care for structurally vulnerable communities.

Expert Director of UNU-IAS OUIK

Dr. Tsunao Watanabe

Tsunao Watanabe is the Director of UNU-IAS Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa (OUIK).

Expert Visiting Fellow

Ronamali Weerasuriya

Rona Weerasuriya is a Visiting Fellow at UNU-IIGH.

Expert Head of VARMAP Division

Dr. Saskia Elisabeth Werners

Saskia E. Werners' main research interest is adaptation to global change in water management.

Expert Senior Project Associate

Christina Natalia Widjaja

Christina is currently leading a book publication project centered around the Climate Vulnerability Monitor (CVM) 3rd edition Report: A Planet on Fire. Commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the Vulnerable Twenty Group (V20) and supported by organizations like Climate Analytics, finres and the Lancet Countdown, CVM consolidates the latest scientific research on climate change impacts.

Expert Research Fellow

Dr. René Wintjes

René Wintjes is senior research fellow at UNU-MERIT since 1998.