Born and raised in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, I studied Landscape Ecology at the Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. During an exchange year in Colorado, USA, I not only discovered my passion for forest ecology and tree physiology, but also found my partner for life. While in Colorado, I studied aspen (Populus tremuloides) regeneration in response to different disturbances, including fire and conifer mortality due to mountain pine beetles – data that were the basis for my diploma thesis. After graduating in 2010, I returned to Colorado to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Northern Colorado in the Franklin lab. My dissertation research included long-term aspen community changes in and around Rocky Mountain National Park, responses to the mountain pine beetle outbreak, and resource sharing through the connected root system of aspen (i.e. clonal integration). Being also passionate about teaching, I received my Ph.D. in Biological Education in 2014.
After graduation, I moved to Panama as part of my post-doctoral fellowship with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and the University of Wyoming. In Panama, I worked primarily in the Agua Salud project and measured plant water use (i.e. transpiration) in regrowing tropical forests of different ages, as well as in a cattle-pasture and a coffee plantation. From April 2017 to July 2019, I lived and worked in Laramie as a post-doctoral fellow in the Ewers lab at the University of Wyoming. Since August 2019, I am an assistant professor of Biology in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Kennesaw State University.
In my free time, I enjoy the outdoors with my wife Michone and our dog Mo. When inside, I root for the Denver Broncos and enjoy playing video games. I love US craft beer and am an avid home brewer.
