Education

• May 1985: Chemistry studies and Diploma at the Eberhard Karls Universität in Tübingen, Germany.
  Diploma Thesis: "Synthesis, Properties and Structures of Oligomer and Polymeric complexes of Iron, Molybdenum and Tungsten with Telluro Phenol Ligands."
• Sept 1985 – Aug 1986: Experimental part of Doctoral Thesis at the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination in Toulouse/France and at the Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation du Rayonnement Electromagnetique (LURE) in Paris,France.
• Feb 1987: Ph.D. Thesis "Large Angle X-ray Scattering and EXAFS Investigations of Metallorganic Polymers"

Most recent appointments

• January 2006?2009: Centenary Research Professor University of South Carolina
• October 2005: Director of the NanoCenter and Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina
• April 2004: Adjunct professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina
• Jan 2003 - Sep 2005: Head of Materials Synthesis & Characterization Group in the BNL Physics Department, Cluster Leader of Materials Synthesis in the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) and Technical Coordinator for scientific equipment in the CFN project at BNL.
• Jan 2000: Promotion to group leader of the Powder Diffraction Group in the Physics Department at BNL. Responsible for high-resolution synchrotron x-ray scattering beam line X7A at NSLS.

Awards

• 2009: International Visiting Research Fellowship at the University of Sydney
• 2008: Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• 2006: Fellow of the American Physical Society
• 2002: Design and Engineering Award of Popular Mechanics
• 1996: R&D 100 award from R&D magazine

Selected Talks and Public Appearances

• Invited by the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) to lecture at the 1993 IAEA Regional Training Course on Nuclear Methods in Materials Development in Beijing, China, August 1993 Full day course on Neutron Scattering.
• Distinguished speaker at the annual meeting of the Norwegian Physical Society, Oslo, July 1994 "High-Resolution Neutron Powder Diffraction"
• Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Toronto, 1997 "Non-stoichiometric AB_5+x
  electrodes for NiMH batteries."
• International Conference on Rare Earths in Fremantle, Australia, October 1998 "Non-stoichiometric AB5 Type Alloys and their properties as Metal Hydride Electrodes."
• Workshop on Strongly Correlated Electronic Materials, Princeton University, January 27&28, 2005