My research is in the field of computational materials science: using first-principles, parameter-free computing methods to predict and understand properties of materials - such as their stability, elastic, electronic, and optical attributes. Focal points of my research are the role of relativistic effects in solids; the properties of ice and water-rich solid compounds; and combining approaches from quantum chemistry and solid state theory for more accurate descriptions of extended systems.

As member of Edinburgh's Centre for Science under Extreme Conditions, a part of my research focuses on the occurrence of new, interesting phases of various materials under conditions of extreme compression and high temperatures. I am interested in the fundamental changes in physics and chemistry under pressure, as well as exploring potential new materials synthesis routes involving high pressure, and the implications of extreme conditions for geo- and planetary science.

I am course organiser and lecturer on the Junior Honours course Computer Modelling, where students learn to write, from scratch, a comprehensive simulation program, e.g. of the solar system or a Lennard-Jones fluid/gas.

I teach the first semester of the Junior Honours course Electromagnetism, which treats electro- and magnetostatics using vector calculus, introduces Maxwell's equations, and electromagnetic waves and serve as course organiser for the one-semester course Foundations of Electromagnetism for visiting students.

I am course organiser and lecturer for the masters-level undergraduate course Electronic Structure Theory (also known as SUPA graduate course Computational Materials Physics), which introduces atomistic and electronic structure methods to describe materials and their properties. Students use local or national supercomputers to do their own calculations for their assignments. 

2013-present: Lecturer in Computational Physics, University of Edinburgh

2011-2013: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cornell University. Advisors: Neil W. Ashcroft, Roald Hoffmann.

2009-2011: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Victoria University Wellington and Auckland University. Advisors: David E. Williams, Shaun C. Hendy.

2005-2009: Doctoral Student, Massey University. Supervisor: Peter A. Schwerdtfeger.

2000-2005: BSc Mathematics, University of Jena.

1999-2004: MSc Physics, University of Jena.