Short CV
Professional Experiences
| since 05/2013 | Head of the Group for Sustainable Energy Carriers and Adjunct Professor at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. |
| 01/2014-03/2021 | Head of the Swiss Competence Centre for Energy Research in the field of Biomass (SCCER BIOSWEET). |
| 05/2010-7/2019 | Member of the board of directors of the Hydromethan AG, a spin-off company of the Paul Scherrer Institut. |
| since 01/2010 | Head of the Laboratory for Sustainable Energy Carriers and Processes (LEP) at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI). |
| 10/2001-09/2018 | Head of the Catalysis for Energy Group at the Paul Scherrer Institut. |
| 05/2001-09/2001 | Head of the Catalytic Processes Group at Degussa AG, Feed Additives Division. |
| 08/1997-04/2001 | Research manager for catalytic processes at Degussa AG (Germany), Feed Additives Division. Working on: - Heterogeneous gas phase reactions (propene to acrolein, ß-picoline to 3-cyanopyridine, methanol to methyl mercaptan). - Development, set-up and operation of process controlled laboratory apparatus and pilot plants. - Catalyst development, quality control of catalyst production, catalyst changes in production plants. - Development of process gas analysis systems. - Plant process development. |
| 02/1994-07/1997 | Assistant at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry of the ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Research mentor for diploma students. |
Education
| 02/1994-07/1997 | Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of Prof. Dr. A. Baiker at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry of the ETH Zurich (Switzerland): "Synthesis of Formic Acid Derivatives by Catalytic Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide". |
| 02/1993-12/1993 | Thesis for diploma examination at the Institute for Organic Chemistry, University of Wurzburg (Germany). |
| 10/1988-01/1993 | Chemistry studies at the University of Wurzburg (Germany). |
Awards
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Swiss Technology Award 2005 |
| 2005 | Special Environmental Prize 2005 (Price of the ABB Schweiz AG for the most innovative system to reduce CO2 emissions) |
Other Functions
| Institution / Function | Period |
| Journal Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief for Catalysis | since 2026 |
| Journal Frontiers in Fuels Speciality Chief Editor | since 2022 |
| Energy Commission of the Swiss Academies of Sciences (SCNAT) Member | since 2018 |
International congress on Catalysis and Automotive Pollution Control (CAPoC) Scientific Advisory Board Member | since 2015 |
Institute for Biomass and Resource Efficiency (IBRE) of the FHNW Steering Committee Member | since 2010 |
| European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) on Bioenergy Steering Committee, Member | since 2010 |
| Dechema (German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) Member | since 1998 |