• Seismotectonics of plate boundary zones (recent research focus: transform faults funded by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council) revealed by ocean-bottom-seismometers (OBS) and geophysical data, surveying seismicity, seismic source mechanisms, structure and tectonics
•  Marine Geophysics, including crustal seismology and heat flow surveys of mid-ocean ridges, hotspot provinces, and subduction zones
•  Participation in 37 scientific marine geophysical cruises, 18 times as chief scientist and PI
•  Author and co-author of 154 peer-review publications, 37 first-author papers, h-factor of 41 (Web of Science; 49 – Google Scholar)

since 10/2024
TRANSFORMERS PI - funded by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council 

since 03/2012
apl-Professor at GEOMAR and Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel

since 02/2003
Senior research scientist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Marine Research, Kiel

10/2003
Habilitation (Dr. habil.) in Geophysics at Department of Earth Sciences, Bremen University

05/1999-01/2003
Assistance Professor (Hochschulassistent, C1) at Department of Earth Sciences, Bremen University

05/1998-05/1999
Research Assistant (Postdoc, BMBF) at GEOMAR Research Centre, Kiel

09/1997-04/1998
Research Assistant (Postdoc, DFG) at Department of Earth Sciences, Bremen University

06/1995-06/1997
Research Assistant (Postdoc, BMBF) at Institute of Geophysics, Hamburg University

11/1994
Doctoral degree in geophysics (Dr. rer. nat.) at Department of Earth Sciences, Hamburg University

05/1993-06/1995
Research Assistant (DFG) and PhD student at Institute of Geophysics, Hamburg University

10/1988-03/1993
Master of Science (Diplom) in Geophysics at Institute of Geophysics, Hamburg University

Postdocs (funded):

• Jan Hauschild (BMBF + DFG, 1999-2005)
• Guillermo Booth-Rea (DFG, 2004)
• Martin Scherwath (BMBF, 2005-2007)
• David Völker (BMBF, 2006-2007)
• Eduardo Contreras-Reyes (BMBF, 2008-2009)
• Marten Lefeldt (DFG-SFB574, 2008-2009)
• Anke Dannowski (BMBF, 2009, DFG-SFB574, 2010-2012)
• Ivonne Arroyo-Aden (DFG-SFB574, 2011; DFG-IODP 2012-2015)
• Laura Gomez de La Pena (Marie-Curie / EU, 2019-2021)
• Yuhan Li (BMBF, 2022-2025)
• Yu Ren (EU-ERC. 2025-      )

Mentoring

• Laura Gomez de La Pena (The Future Ocean, 2017-2019)
• Yuhan Li (CSC, 2022-2022)
• Jialing Zhang (junior visiting scientist, CSC, 2024-2025)
• Xiodong Wei (senior visiting scientist, CSC, 2024)
• Enyuan He (senior visiting scientist, CSC, 2024-2025)
• Florian Neumann (COMPASS Mentoring Programme of the HGF, 2022-2024)

Research scientists/PhD students (funded):

• Monika Ivandic (DFG-SFB574, 2005-2008, Dissertation 2008)
• Marten Lefeldt (DFG-SFB574, 2005-2008, Dissertation 2008)
• Eduardo Contreras-Reyes (DAAD, 2005-2008, Dissertation 2008)
• Anke Dannowski (DFG, 2004-2009, Dissertation 2009)
• David Pesquer (DFG, 2006-2010)
• Stefan Möller (DFG, 2010-2013; Dissertation 2013)
• Wiebke Leuchters (DFG, 2007-2011, Dissertation 2014)
• Kathrin Lieser (DFG, 2011-2014, Dissertation 2015)
• Dirk Metz (The Future Ocean, 2016), with Prof. Watts, Univ. of Oxford (Dissertation 2018)
• Yu Ren (CSC, 2020-2025)
• Helene-Sophie Hilbert (GEOMAR, 2020-    )
• Guiherme de Melo (EU-ITN, 2023-       )
• Yingchen Liu (CSC, 2023-         )

Diploma / MSc students:

• Stefan Möller (2009)
• Helene Kraft (2011)
• Sven Schippkus (2014)
• Ina Wehner (2016)
• Michaela Merz (2016)
• Sarah Mader (2016)
• Gesa Franz (2017)
• Christian Filbrandt (2023)

BSc students:

• Sarah Splettstößer (2012)
• Kevin Growe (2018)
• Christian Filbrandt (2019)