Egger Research and Consulting GmbH was founded by Dr. Matthias Egger, who has more than 10 years of experience in academic research and environmental consulting. In his research, Dr. Egger combines a broad range of analytical and numerical techniques at the intersection of biogeochemistry, microbiology, oceanography and limnology to understand the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and their vulnerability towards anthropogenic perturbations. The knowledge generated by his research is used to optimize mitigation strategies and for raising public awareness.

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​Curriculum Vitae - Matthias Egger

RESEARCH & CONSULTING POSITIONS
  • since 2023:  Head of Environmental and Social Affairs at The Ocean Cleanup, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • since 2022:  Founder, CEO and Environmental Consultant at Egger Research and Consulting GmbH, St. Gallen, Switzerland
  • 2018 - 2022: Lead Ocean Field Scientist at The Ocean Cleanup, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • 2016 - 2017:  Postdoctoral Researcher at Center for Geomicrobiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • 2016:             Postdoctoral Researcher at Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  • 2012 - 2016:  PhD candidate at Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
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EDUCATION
  • ​2012 - 2016: PhD, Marine Biogeochemistry, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  • 2009 - 2011: MSc, Environmental Sciences, Major in Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2006 - 2009: BSc, Environmental Sciences, Major in System-oriented Studies in Aquatic Systems, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland

EXPERTISE
  • ​Aquatic biogeochemistry (carbon and nutrients) and pollutant dynamics (plastics)
  • Field and laboratory research: Sediment coring; anoxic and oxic core slicing; porewater extraction; methane sampling; (anoxic) epoxy embedding of sediment sub-cores; neuston trawl; MOCNESS; in-situ pumps; sediment traps; CTD; isotope geochemistry; stable isotope incubations; gas chromatography; sequential chemical extractions; HF digestions; alkalinity and iodometric titrations; photo spectroscopy; micro XRF mapping; SEM-EDS; XRD; synchrotron-based X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS); Raman spectroscopy; FTIR 
  • Numerical modeling: Reactive transport models (RTM); Box models
  • Academic writing and science communication
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RESEARCH EXPEDITIONS
  • North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, 20.11.-11.12.2019. Maersk Transporter (DK), as chief scientist
  • North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, 27.10.-9.12.2018. Maersk Transporter (DK), as chief scientist
  • North Atlantic, 16.6-22.6.2018. R/V Pelagia (NL)
  • Baltic Sea, 28.5-14.6.2016. R/V Pelagia (NL)
  • Bothnian Sea, 3.8.-7.8.2015, R/V Lotty (SWE)
  • Bothnian Sea, 20.4.-24.4.2015, R/V Lotty (SWE)
  • Bothnian Sea, 18.8.-24.8.2013, R/V Aranda (FIN)
  • Black Sea, 7.6.-23.6.2013, R/V Pelagia (NL)
  • Bothnian Sea, 20.8.-26.8.2012, R/V Aranda (FIN)
  • North Sea (Lake Grevelingen), multiple (>10) expeditions between 2012 and 2015, R/V Luctor (NL) and R/V Navicula (NL)
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SUPERVISION & MENTORING EXPERIENCE
MSc students:
  • Marjolein van Vulpen (2022 - present), "Hotspots of plastic and neuston in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch"
  • Kiri Spanowicz (2022), "The abundance and diversity of floating plastic debris and neuston in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch"
  • Britte Schilt (2021), "Diversity and abundance of plastics and neuston in the North Atlantic Ocean"
  • Hannah Kortman (2020/2021), "Using Raman spectroscopy to determine the degree of degradation (i.e. aging) of plastic debris afloat on the ocean surface"
  • Lauren Quiros (2019/2020), "Investigating the role of submesoscale eddies for the accumulation of floating plastic debris in the eastern North Pacific Ocean"
  • Marloes Schravensande (2019), "Characterizing floating marine plastic debris in the Atlantic Ocean"
  • Rein Nijhof (2019), "Buoyant plastic debris in the Gulf of Alaska"
  • Roosmarijn van Zummeren (2019), "Beaching of marine debris on a remote Pacific Island (Guam, Micronesia)"
  • Annerieke Bouwman (2018/2019), "Microplastics in marine sediments of the Mississippi River Delta (Gulf of Mexico)"
  • Dirk Jong (2015/2016), "Early diagenesis in sediments of a seasonally hypoxic coastal basin (Lake Grevelingen, the Netherlands)"
BSc students:
  • Annika Vollebregt (2015), "Anaerobic oxidation of methane and its effect on the dynamics of sulfur and iron in the sediments of Lake Grevelingen, the Netherlands"
  • Marit van Erk (2014), "Diagenetic signals of the Holocene lake-marine transition in a sediment core from the Bornholm Basin, Baltic Sea"
  • Evelien Dekker (2013-2014), "Influence of the lake/marine transition on phosphorus dynamics in Black Sea sediments below the redoxcline"
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JOURNAL REFEREE
  • Science Advances 
  • Environmental Science & Technology
  • Limnology and Oceanography
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
  • Biogeosciences
  • Frontiers in Marine Science
  • Frontiers in Microbiology
  • Marine Chemistry
  • Nature Ecology & Evolution
  • Environmental Science & Technology Letters
  • Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Nature Ecology & Evolution
  • Nature Sustainability

MEMBERSHIPS
  • Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Working Group 153: Floating Litter and its Oceanic TranSport Analysis and Modelling (FLOTSAM)
  • European Geosciences Union

LANGUAGES
  • Swiss German: Native language
  • German: Native proficiency
  • English: Full professional proficiency
  • Dutch: Professional working proficiency
  • French: Elementary proficiency