My research is focused on a variety of surface nanostructures. This includes metal and graphite substrates and inorganic and organic molecules as varied as Alkali Halides, Amino Acids, and Spiropyran-based molecular switches.
Experimentally, I'm interested in the fabrication and characterization of nanostructures and ultrathin films investigated with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Low-Energy Electron Diffraction and Auger Electron Spectroscopy.
I'm also conducting Computational Chemistry calculations using basic Density Functional Theory and Molecular Mechanics.
Education:
Diploma, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany (1997)
PhD, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany (2002)
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia,2003-2005
Employment:
Instructor, Western Washington University, 2005-2006
Assistant Professor, WWU, 2006-2011
Associate Professor, WWU, 2011-2019
Professor, WWU, 2019 - present
Chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy at WWU, 2015-1019