Antje Becker didn’t set out for a career in water resources. She started out researching viruses such as HIV but eventually found a path that's connecting her work more directly with nature. Today, she focuses on environmental modelling, helping clients deal with challenges like water scarcity, water pollution and the increasing effects of climate change. In this Q&A, she gives an inside look at her role, a standout project and the one global water challenge she wishes she could solve overnight.

Hi Antje, what led you to a career in water resources?

Interestingly, my path to a career in water resources wasn’t entirely straightforward! I started out studying biochemistry, focusing on viruses like HIV. I loved the science and laboratory works behind it — understanding how these tiny organisms interact with their environment — but over time, I decided that I wanted to work on something with a more direct connection to nature and the world around us.

That’s when I moved into environmental and landscape analysis. I started working at DHI with GIS and data preprocessing for water resources management.  My first projects were connected to the EU Water Framework Directive, and I realised how central water is to everything we do, from ecosystems to communities.

For the past ten years, I’ve been working with environmental modelling, focusing on ecological aspects such as temperature, nutrients, chlorophyll and salinity. I love that this work combines data, science and real-world impact — helping us understand how changes in our environment affect water systems, and ultimately, life itself.

What does your day look like, and what's the best part?

My workday usually combines different types of tasks, and that’s one of the things I enjoy most about my work. My days are usually a mix of project management, meetings, strategic planning and reporting. But I also spend a good part of my time on the technical side: doing hydrology and hydrodynamic modelling, including transport and ecological modelling. I really like that balance between coordinating projects and diving into the actual modelling work.

The best moments are when we deliver results that make our clients happy, and we have worked well together as a team. Seeing that our work has real value and impact is always rewarding. And on a lighter note — one of my small weekly highlights is when the fruit basket arrives every Tuesday. It’s a simple thing, but it always brings a smile to our office!

Tell us about a memorable project you have been involved in and why was it significant for you? 

In our department, we’re working to make energy and water resources more resilient and helping water authorities and other clients deal with challenges like water scarcity, water pollution and the increasing effects of climate change, such as flooding and droughts. 

One project that I was involved in brought these issues into sharp focus: improving the ecological condition of a nutrient-polluted waters in Schleswig-Holstein. For decades, the ecosystem had been affected by excessive nutrient inputs limited water exchange and sludge accumulation. We developed a 3D ecological MIKE model combined with MIKE ECO Lab to capture the hydrodynamic and ecological processes in detail and later created an optimised 2D version for long-term simulations — tools that now support better decisions for sustainable management. The next phase of the project will focus also on sediment processes.

What I found most rewarding was seeing how our modelling results translated into practical steps that helped our clients better understand the connections within the ecosystem, enabling them to plan more effective measures. Working closely with colleagues and ecological experts from Denmark to fine-tune the model reminded me how powerful collaboration can be when science and motivation come together.

If you could solve one global water challenge overnight, what would it be?

It would be to restore clean, resilient aquatic ecosystems, from rivers to coastal waters. Reducing pollution, managing nutrients more sustainably and adapting to floods and droughts would protect both nature and communities. Everything is connected, and maintaining this balance motivates me.  

What's a fun fact people would be surprised to learn about you?  

As a child growing up in Berlin, I dreamed of becoming a behavioural scientist — or even a dolphin researcher! I was fascinated by all mammals, their intelligence and their playful nature. While I didn’t quite follow that path professionally, I became a 'behavioural scientist' in my private life, observing the behaviour of my two cats and guinea pigs with great enthusiasm. I think that early curiosity about how living beings interact with their environment eventually led me towards nature and ecology.