Prof. Ursula Eicker is the new Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) for Next Generation Cities at Concordia University Montréal. A German physicist, Eicker has held leadership positions at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences and its Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies. She has been leading international research projects in the fields of energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable energy supply systems for more than two decades. She led 116 research grants at the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart as PI with an average annual funding of 1.5 million Euros in the last five years.

Since June 2019, she leads an ambitious research program to establish pathways toward zero-carbon cities. The 7 year research program receives 10 million CAD government funding and is supported by a further 10 million Dollars by Concordia University, who invests in the city cluster research with five professor positions in buildings and electrical engineering, biodiversity, philosophy and design. The Concordia Next Generation Cities Cluster addresses the challenges of the urban transformation with a transdisciplinary approach and develops tools and strategies for a sustainable future.