My backgound is a PhD in Agricultural Science (University of Göttingen) and I hold an M.Sc. degree as well (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign).
I am well acquainted with educational institutions as I am currently lecturing at Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences as well as the Technical University at Clausthal. I have held leadership positions within the faculty (Dean of Studies) for many years. I am therefore familiar with the concerns of students, student mobility, university administration processes and the development of study programs.
My research activities focus around water quality, remediation, environmental and health issues connected to that, with specific interest on climate change impact on toxic algal blooms and their prediction. I am a member of the Institute for Bio- and Environmental Technology and Board member of the Center of Scientific, Interdisciplinary Risk and Sustainability Management (ZWIRN).
I am also well connected abroad (VIsiting Professor of the University of Wisconsin at Parkside, WI, USA; Founding | Board Member of the International Congress of Sustainable Globalization). Within EU I am also guest lecturing in Finnland (TAMK International weeks).
In teaching (Master and Bachelor; online and face-to-face), I currently represent subjects such as project and environmental management, risk management, communication, simulation of environmental systems, but also STEM subjects such as general, organic and inorganic chemistry, in addition to the usual supervision of student theses in German and English. To facilitate students active involvement I am interested in additional teaching methods triggered by progress in digitalization (gamification, seminaristic lecture, applied project work, remote and hybrid teaching connected to virtual student mobility in internationalization, etc).
Entrepreneurial activities include climate change and risk management consulting, including consulting about algal toxins and water qualitiy issues to water management institutions and communities at home and abroad (CEO Algae App LLC), but also career consulting for young people. I also work as a project expert on national and EU level (DAAD).
In my honorary capacity, I am connected to sports (former board member of the Lower Saxony Sports Association (LSB Niedersachsen) 2000-2018; as well as club and association work in board positions) and media, as I was appointed to the NDR Broadcasting Council 2012-2022, chairing the FWI (Committee for Finance, Economic and Information Technologies). I currently am an elected Member of the Board of Directors for the Northern German Broadcasting (Verwaltungsrat Norddeutscher Rundfunk, NDR) starting in 2023.