He obtained his doctoral degree from University of Erlangen, Germany in 2001 and then pursued his post-doctoral research at National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, from 2002-2004. From 2004-2013, he was a scientist and group leader at the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin, Germany. His current research focuses on computational predictions and understanding of new materials related to energy and electronics, as well as molecular structure and spectroscopies. Much of this work is directly connected to ongoing developments of new algorithms and computational tools in the all-electron electronic structure package FHI-aims and in the broader “ELSI” infrastructure.