He received a Diploma and PhD in Physics, working with Peter Fromherz at the MPI for Biochemistry. After working as DFG Scholar at Rockefeller University with Albert Libchaber, he led his own Emmy Noether group on biomolecule thermophoresis and thermal trapping in Munich, leading to the award winning Startup company NanoTemper (50 employees) founded by two of his first PhD students. The company uses thermophoresis to quantify biomolecule binding in complex liquids. He has received the Schloessmann Award in Optical Methods in Modern Biology and recently the Klung-Wilhelmy Weberbank price, Germany’s highest paying biannual award for physicists younger than 40.