Maria Anna Hecher

Maria Anna Hecher is a Researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) within the Institute of Environmental Engineering under the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. She concurrently serves as a Lecturer for the Education Service (SSIE) at EPFL, focusing on Environmental Sciences and Engineering curriculum development and instruction.

Her research centers on sustainability transitions through socio-technical analysis of energy systems, with particular emphasis on behavioral dynamics in residential building sectors. She investigates social acceptance of energy technologies and innovation diffusion patterns by integrating environmental science methodologies with social science frameworks and energy modeling techniques. Her work consistently adopts inter- and transdisciplinary approaches that bridge academic research, policy development, and community practice.

Hecher has advised PhD candidate Gloria Serra Coch and managed significant sustainability initiatives including a three-year regional program in Styria, Austria involving renewable energy and sustainable mobility projects. Her professional experience includes consultancy for Graz city's energy agency where she coordinated e-mobility and spatial energy planning collaborations with public authorities, energy suppliers, and research institutions.

She operates within the Laboratory on Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS), contributing to its mission of analyzing complex urban sustainability challenges through integrated human-environment system perspectives.