. some words about myself
I am originally from north-eastern Germany - from the picturesque coast of the Baltic Sea and the beautiful port town Rostock.
Photography is one of my hobbies and I focus on landscape and close-up photography on 35 mm film. Check out the . photography and . image gallery sites to view some of my photographs.
I enjoy being outside to see different landscapes and to observe the animal and plant life in different parts of the world. I have been to places in Europe (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and others), Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Singapore, South Africa, and the USA leaving only Antarctica as a continent untouched. My camera equipment is always with me on tour and I enjoy capturing my view of the world on slides.
Another interest, and hopefully becoming my profession, is biology and particularly entomology—the science of insects. I studied biology at the University of Rostock with an emphasis in zoology, entomology, and botany. During my course of study I also spent time in South Africa, the USA, and Denmark before I graduated with a Diploma in Biology from the University of Rostock in January 2002. From August 2002–August 2007 I worked on my Ph.D. dissertation at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City.
I obtained my Ph.D. in August 2007 and my dissertation is entitled “Phylogeny, classification, & biodiversity of robber flies (Diptera: Brachycera: Asiloidea: Asilidae) with special reference to Leptogastrinae.” After a short postdoc at the AMNH I am now based at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago where I work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate.
