Born 1960, in Warstein/Westfalia. Study of Chemistry and Law, Univ. of Münster, doctorate Univ. of Münster (1988), Postdoc Dpt. Chemical Engineering Univ. of Minneapolis/USA (1988-1989), habilitation in inorganic chemistry Univ. of Mainz (1995), Full Professor of Inorganic Chemistry Univ. of Frankfurt/Main (1995-1998), Director and Scientific Member at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (since 1998), Honorary Professor Univ. of Bochum (since 1999), Vice-President of the Max Planck Society (2014-2020).