Ani Melkonyan Gottschalk
Ani Melkonyan-Gottschalk is Professor for Sustainability and Socio-Technical Transformation at TU Clausthal. Previously, she was Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Logistics and Traffic at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. She has been involved in research and teaching for over 15 years in the areas of sustainable economies and frameworks for transitioning toward both sustainable and smart governance. Prof. Dr. Melkonyan-Gottschalk‘s expertise spans various domains, including sustainable and circular economies, smart and sustainable urban regions, sustainable supply chain management, the interconnectedness between resource and food systems, mobility and logistics systems, digital and innovative business ecosystems, and sustainable and inclusive governance models. She leads international, transdisciplinary research groups overseeing projects such as “Innovative Logistics for Sustainable Lifestyles,” “Competence Network of Industrial and Rural Interlinkages,” and “Innovative Citrus By-Products Supply Chain in the Mediterranean Area.” These initiatives entail conducting comprehensive sustainability assessments across the entirety of modern services, both in stationary and online commerce while simultaneously exploring innovative business models related to sharing and circular economies. Through projects such as “Economic Assessment of Environmental Impact” funded by NASA, “Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies” for the cities of Duisburg and Essen, “Essen — Green Capital City of Europe, 2017,” and the Mercator Foundation–funded project “NEMO — New Emscher Mobility,” Prof. Dr. Melkonyan-Gottschalk actively collaborates with local governmental authorities and industrial partners to develop collaborative decision support systems aimed at facilitating sustainable transition strategies. She has been published in more than 30 scientific publications and four monographs. Prof. Dr. Melkonyan-Gottschalk earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in mathematical modeling from Yerevan State University, Armenia, and a PhD in environmental sciences from the University of Duisburg-Essen. She can be reached at ani.melkonyan-gottschalk@tu-clausthal.de.