Manisha Panda

M.Sc. Manisha Panda is a Researcher at the Department of Bioenergy at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany. She holds a Master's in Computational Science and has been affiliated with the UFZ since October 2024. Previously, she worked as a Research Assistant at Fraunhofer FKIE (2020-2024), contributing to projects like EEMonRequest and EE-Standortfinder. Her work focuses on renewable energy monitoring, sustainable bioeconomy, and environmental policy.

Her research interests include the development of tools for assessing the nature-compatibility of renewable energy expansion, such as the EE-Monitor web application. She has contributed to projects addressing biodiversity impacts of energy transitions and sustainable biomass use for climate neutrality. In 2024, she received the UFZ Research Award as part of a team for their work on sustainable biomass utilization and the EE-Monitor initiative.

Key projects include the EEMonReport (documenting the EE-Monitor tool) and InPositiv (exploring positive biodiversity effects of renewables). Her work integrates technical development, policy analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration across energy, environment, and societal systems.