Function and Responsibilities:

• Director Department 1 "Geodesy", GFZ Potsdam
  
• Head of GFZ Section 1.3: "Earth System Modelling"
• Professor for Modelling of Fluid Dynamics in the Earth System, Freie Universität Berlin

Research Interests:

Simulation of spatio-temporal variations of mass distributions within and mass exchanges among the Earth´s subsystems atmosphere, ocean, and continental hydrology in consideration of consistent mass and momentum fluxes as well as interactions with the solid Earth

• Estimation and identification of oceanic, atmospheric, and hydrologic induced variations of the Earth´s gravity field, Earth orientation parameters, and geocenter on hourly to decadal timescales
• Geophysical interpretation of geodetic observed variations of global parameters of the Earth by means of in-situ data and numerical simulations
• Nonlinear interactions between dynamical components of the Earth´s subsystems (e.g., between the ocean´s general circulation and tides
• Separation of mass and steric induced sea level variations
• Paleo climate and paleo oceanography
• Gravitational and pressure tides in atmosphere and oceans

Career:

• since Nov 2013: W3-Professorship “Modelling of Fluid Dynamics in the Earth System” at the Department of Earth Sciences of the Free University of Berlin
• Jan 2008-Oct 2013: W2-Professorship “Global Dynamic Geomodelling” at the Department of Earth Sciences of the Free University of Berlin
  
• since May 2007: Head of Section 1.3 “Earth System Modelling” at GFZ Potsdam
• Aug 2001–Apr 2007: Head of the working group “Global Geodynamics” at the Institute for Planetary Geodesy, Dresden University of  Technology
• June 2001–July 2001: Research associate at the Meteorological Institute, University of Bonn
• May 1999–May 2001: Research associate at the Institute and Museum of Geology and Paleontology, University of Tübingen
• Nov 1996–Sep 1999: Research associate at the Observatory Hoher List of the Astronomical Institutes, University of Bonn

Education:

• 2001: Ph.D. at the Faculty of Geosciences of the University of Hamburg on ”Ocean induced variations of Earth´s rotation –  Results from a simultaneous model for circulation and tides in the global ocean” (summa cum laude)
• 1996: Graduation (Diploma) in Oceanography at the University of Hamburg; Topic of Master Thesis: ”Tides and angular momentum in the global ocean since the last glacial maximum”
• 1989–1996: Study of Oceanography at the Department of Geosciences, University of Hamburg