Dr. Biwen (Annie) An Stepec (formerly An) received her Ph.D. in Environmental Microbiology from the University of Calgary in 2014. Her dissertation focused on the role of microorganisms in the oil and gas reservoirs at extreme conditions.
From 2017-2022, she joined the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) as a postdoctoral researcher, where her research focused on microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) with the aim to increase interdisciplinary relevance between microbiology, materials science and chemistry.
Besides research, Annie has lectured at the Humboldt University of Berlin on the topic of ‘electroactive’ microorganisms and their role within our society. She is currently leading the Working Group 2 of the Cost-Action Euro-MIC (www.Euro-MIC.org). She is also part of the organizing committee for ‘Living on Hydrogen’ (together with Dr. Nicole Dopffel) and the International Symposium on Applied Microbiology and Molecular Biology in Oil Systems-ISMOS. In March 2023, she was elected as the Roadmap Leader for Hydrogen Europe & Hydrogen Europe Research RM04-Hydrogen Storage.
Since 2023, she works as a senior researcher in the Norwegian research institute NORCE in Bergen, Norway, and her current research topics includes:
- Microbial processes and risks during hydrogen underground storage
- Microbiologically influenced corrosion & related corrosion monitoring and testing
- Microbial processes in soil, water and the subsurface
- Microbial processes in extreme environments, particularly high salinity conditions
