Function and Responsibilities:

Lead of the Astrobiology Research Group, ZAA, TU Berlin

President of the German Astrobiological Society

Research Interests:

planetary habitability

astrobiology

evolutionary biology

geosciences

Career:

EXPERIENCE 

2013-present:         Professor and Principal Investigator at the Center of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ZAA),

                                  Technical University Berlin, with Co-Appointment at GFZ and IGB since 2019

2013-present:         Adjunct Professor, Beyond Center, Arizona State University

2010-2016:             Professor, School of the Environment, Washington State University

2011:                      Humboldt Foundation Fellow (Friedrich-Wilhelm-Bessel Award; Jan-Aug 2011),

                                    German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Berlin, Germany 

2004-2010:             Associate Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences,

                                  Washington State University

1999:                      NASA Summer Faculty Fellow at the Goddard Space Flight Center

1998-2004:             Assistant Professor, University of Texas at El Paso. Department of Geological

                                    Sciences, and Environmental Science and Engineering Program

1998:                       Assistant Professor, Center of Environmental Resource Management, University

                                    of Texas at El Paso

1996-1998:              Senior Project Hydrogeologist at Envirogen, Inc. (Princeton Research Center) –          

                                        Division Fluid Management.

1997-1998:              Adjunct Professor, Department of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of

                                       Wisconsin-La Crosse.

1991-1996:             Doctoral Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

1990-1992:              Research Associate and Consultant, Geobureaux for Geosciences and

                                       Environmental Sciences

1991:                        Research Associate, Institute of Applied Geosciences, Justus-Liebig-University,

                                       Giessen, Germany.

1988-1991:              Research Assistant, Department of Geology, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen,

                                       Germany.

RELATED EXPERIENCE 

2017-present            President of the German Astrobiological Society (DAbG e.V.)

2007-2016:             Director of the Laboratory for Astrobiological Investigations and Space Mission

                                  Planning, Washington State University  

2012:                        Guest Professor at the University of Vienna, Austria (May); and Guest Scientist at the German AeroSpace Center (DLR) in Berlin, Germany (June-August)

2000-2009:              Chief Scientist of the Geobiological Groundwater Research Group (GBiG) 

Education:

Ph.D., 1996, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Geosciences)

Diploma (M.S.), 1991, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (Geology)

Vordiploma (B.S.), 1988, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (Geology)

Projects:

Funded Projects

HOME (Habitability of Martian Environment) - Exploring the Limits of Life (ERC)

PortPath: A Portable Device for Detecting Pathogens (ERC)

Understanding the Potential Role of Oxychlorines in Destroying or Altering Chemical Biosignatures on Mars (DFG)

Research Boards and Committees:

Founding Member and President of the German Astrobiological Society (DAbG)

European Astrobiology Network

American Geophysical Union

International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life and Astrobiology Society (ISSOL)

Founding Member of Star Voyager Organization

Advisory Member of the Lifeboat Foundation

Advisory Board Member of Geotex Energy Corporation

Member of the Philosophical Society of Washington DC

Awards: