Who am I
Joining Solvias/Switzerland in 2018 as a scientific associate, I am currently the team leader of the spectroscopy group in the biopharma unit. There, I am supporting a team of 9 members for contract analyses on biopharmaceuticals/biologics in a GMP-regulated environment.
Before that, I grew into the role of a PhD-level physical chemist and spectroscopist who was designing analytical instrumentation and doing research on light-induced charge transport. With +10 years of knowledge in the fields of solar energy conversion & photonics, lasers and detectors I have published around 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles, participated in more than a dozen conferences/congresses and was involved in expert reviewing. I lived and worked in 4 countries, speak several languages (German, English, French and some Spanish), enjoy doing sports, reading books and meeting new people at international events.
My assets are reliability and responsibility. I stay calm in challenging situations and show proactivity where others hesitate. I pay attention to details and enjoy contributing to bigger goals while I am also adapted at getting things done individually. This is an important part of my daily work life, where I help restructuring and rebuilding a team of young lab technicians and scientist. Together, we get the daily analyses done and keep our eyes open for the spectroscopic needs in biopharma in the upcoming years. In this spirit, I take the advice from a former science mentor: 'it is about knowing when you can allow to be fast and when slowing down is key to success'. I enjoyed implementing this strategic dosage approach in my professional life, as it comes natural to me after growing up from age 5-27 as active part in a soccer team. Winning through team effort and supporting your colleagues for the bigger goal, this is where I thrive. Thus, I feel best when absorbing the creativity provided by diverse environments and people who think different from me.
More details? Since 2010, I am not playing the "home game" anymore. I left my familiar background in Germany and moved to Geneva/Switzerland to take over professional challenges and starting from scratch socially. At work, it was decisive to built a so-called femtosecond infrared laser technique to be able to answer my chemical questions and the ones of the research group. Although, not yet an optics expert at that time, I embraced this rare opportunity and enjoyed it. Next to these professional demands in the PhD program, I assimilated to the new environment learning French in evening schools and finding new circles of friends, including my better half :-). The move has given me a unique perspective about patience & long term thinking. It allowed me to put myself into the skin of others, which I find very relevant for the work place , where processes seem to be driven exclusively by hard numbers.
I had already encountered similar situations earlier in life, when moving to Spain for a social year after school in 2003. The feeling of not being able to talk has been frustrating but educative. With more travel restrictions during the chemistry studies, I embraced a chance to pursue an exchange semester at the University of Notre Dame during my Master's program in 2008. Again, I left my comfort zone, knowing that it would prolong my studies when returning to my home university in Germany. I guess, "I felt that the extra effort would pay off" sounds smart in retrospect, but I think it was simple curiosity that pushed me towards another decisive path of my life. Anyhow, planned or not, it did enrich my life. It was here where I published my first peer-reviewed article with the world-renowned chemist Prashant V. Kamat and where my fascination for the influence of light on our daily environment transformed from a spark into a flame. Used to read and discuss in the scientific language English, I could now catch up faster with what I missed out on at home.
The loop closes here. I realized that my spot is in a diverse and interdisciplinary environment, combining the strength of different areas, cultures and ways of thinking effectively. This brought me to Geneva and eventually to Princeton, where I decided to leave the academic environment for making my skills effective in an industrial setting.