Dr. Rossella Alba has joined the HIFMB as Junior Professor of Marine Policy and Management. The professorship is a joint appointment with the Alfred Wegener Institute and the University of Oldenburg. She comes to HIFMB from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where she was a postdoctoral researcher, and holds a PhD in human geography from Trier University.
Together with her working group, Dr. Alba explores how we protect, use, and re-claim coastal and marine environments, focusing on policy practices, infrastructure, and knowledge production. As her team continues to grow, two PhD positions are currently open to further develop these research perspectives.
Photo: UOL | Daniel Schmidt
Dr. Rossella Alba is particularly interested in how ocean challenges and the ways they are addressed – whether through new management tools, technologies, or research frameworks – are shaped by geography, history, expertise, and everyday practices. For Dr. Alba, researching management and policy is fundamentally about asking whose knowledge, perspectives, and interests are recognized, prioritized, or overlooked, and what this means for specific communities and places.
She is committed to fostering plural, inclusive, and collaborative approaches to understanding and governing oceans. This goes beyond sharing research findings, involving the development of innovative methods and creative approaches that support joint learning and reflection across the natural and social sciences, as well as practice — including policy, art, and activism.
Learn more about the Marine Policy and Management group on the website.