Born 13.12.1967 in Wiesbaden. From 1987 - 1993 studies of biology (Diploma 1993); 1997 Promotion at University of Konstanz. 1997 - 1999 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford University (California, USA); 1999 - 2001 Habilitation (Bioinorganic und theoretical chemistry) at the University of Konstanz; 2001 - 2006 group leader at the Max Planck Institute for radiation chemistry (since 2003 Max Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry); 2006 - 2011 Full Professor and Chair of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn. In addition from 2008 - 2011 Fellow of the Max Planck Society and since 2011 Director und Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for for Chemical Energy Conversion. Since 2013 Honorary Professor at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität of Bonn. As from 1st January 2018 he is Director und Scientific Member at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung.