Volker Weitbrecht

Volker Weitbrecht is a Lecturer at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at ETH Zürich. He has been a Group Leader of the River Engineering Research Group since 2009 and a Member of the Institute Board at VAW (Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glazialogie) since the same year. His work focuses on sustainable river management, hydraulic engineering, and sediment transport dynamics, with particular expertise in large wood accumulation hazards and ecohydraulic solutions.

Education: Dr.-Ing. (Dissertation) from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2004, with a thesis on 'Influence of Dead-Water Zones on the Dispersive Mass Transport in Rivers'. Earlier, he completed a Civil Engineering degree at KIT from 1990–1996, specializing in Hydraulics and Hydromechanics.

Research Interests: Dr. Weitbrecht’s research integrates engineering and ecological perspectives to address river management challenges. Key areas include:

• Step-pool channel stability and design
• Large wood dynamics and risk mitigation
• Sediment transport modeling
• Drone-based monitoring techniques
• Fluvial hydraulics in mountain streams

His contributions span theoretical studies, experimental flume research, and field applications, emphasizing practical solutions for flood protection and river restoration.

Advising & Grants: While no formal advisees are listed, his leadership in research groups at VAW and collaborative projects like the WoodFlow initiative highlight his role in guiding multidisciplinary teams. He has led numerous physical modeling studies funded by ETH Zurich and external partners, addressing topics such as sediment continuity, bridge safety, and ecohydraulic interventions.

Labs/Teams: He is affiliated with the VAW Institute (Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources), collaborating closely with colleagues on projects such as the 'Hybrid Modeling of the Alpine Rhine' and 'Hochwasserschutz' (flood protection) initiatives.