Date of birth: September 19, 1977
Nationality: Swiss
Civil status: married, 2 children
Academic Positions
Present position
Since Oct 2015: full professor in Sedimentary Geology, Department of Geology, University of Innsbruck
Since Mar2021: Head of Department, Department of Geology, University of Innsbruck
Previous positions
2011-2015: Assistant Professor in “Sediment Dynamics”, ETH Zurich - SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation) Professorship
2008-2011: MARUM fellow and postdoctoral researcher at DFG Research Center/Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean in the Earth System" University of Bremen, Germany
2007-2008: SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation) Fellowship for Prospective Researcher and postdoctoral researcher at RCOM – Research Centre Ocean Margins, University of Bremen, Germany
2003-2007: Scientific assistant at the Department of Earth Science, ETH Zurich
Education
2003-2007: Ph.D. student at the Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland: Title of PhD thesis: Quantifying Late Quaternary Natural Hazards in Swiss Lakes: Subaquatic Landslides, Slope Stability Assessments, Paleoseismic Reconstructions and Lake Outbursts, Supervisor: Prof. F.S. Anselmetti, ETH Zurich
1998-2003: Diploma in Earth Sciences at ETH Zurich: Diploma thesis: Erosion Processes and geomorphologic landscape evolution in arid climatic environment; 'Lluta collapse', northern Chile, Supervisor: Prof. F. Schlunegger, ETH Zurich
Awards
2017: Asahiko Taira International Scientific Ocean Drilling Research Prize by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the Japan Geoscience Union
2014: Young Scientist Award of the International Association of Sedimentologists
2011: Hans-Cloos-Preis for significant contributions to Geosciences (Geologische Vereinigung Germany)
2008: ETH Medal for outstanding PhD thesis at ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2007: CHGEOL Award for the thesis in earth science written at Swiss universities with the most practical relevance in 2007
2004: Willi-Studer Award ETH Zurich for best diploma student in Earth Science in 2003
Research Expeditions
2003-present: >100 field campaigns (reflection seismics, coring, insitu testing and monitoring, ROV, AUV, etc) on lakes (Austria, Switzerland, Italy)
Ocean-going Research Expeditions:
2021: IODP Japan Trench Paleoseismology Expedition 386: co-chief scientist
2018: IODP Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) Expedition 358 offshore Japan. Sedimentologist
2016: R/V Sonne Cruise SO251B: Research Cruise to the Nankai Trough - Kumano Basin (Sedimentologist)
2016: R/V Sonne Cruise SO251A: Research Cruise to the Japan Trench (Chief-Scientist)
2012: IODP Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) Expedition 338 offshore Japan. Co-chief Scientist
2012: R/V Sonne Cruise SO219A: Research Cruise to the 2011-Tohoku-Earthquake Epicentral Area (Co-PI and Sedimentologist)
2011: R/V Kairei Cruise KR11-04: Surveying submarine landslide scars along the Nankai Accretionary Wedge by ROV Kaiko 7000
2010/11: IODP Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) & Nankai Trough Submarine Landslide History (NanTroSLIDE) Expedition 333 offshore Japan. Position as NanTroSLIDE PI and Stratigraphic Correlator
2010 R/V Maria S. Merian Cruise MSM 15/3: MeBo (MARUM seafloor drill rig) drilling of the Twin Slide Complex in the Gela Basin, Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea)
2009: R/V Meteor Cruise M78/3a: Sedimentation processes offshore Uruguay and Argentina
2007/8: IODP NanTroSEIZE Expedition 316 offshore Japan. Position as Sedimentologist
2006: R/V Poseidon Cruise 336: CRESTS (=CREtan Sea Tectonics and Sedimentology)
2002: ODP Leg 205 offshore Costa Rica, Position as Sedimentologist / Student Trainee.
Teaching and (Co-)supervising students
Since 2009: Supervision of 9 PhD, and 17 M.Sc., theses in the general field of sedimentary geology, sediment dynamics, subaquatic landslides and slope stability research at University of Innsbruck, Austria, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and University of Bremen, Germany
Since 2015: Teaching within the Earth Science Curriculum at Univ. Innbruck WS SS
2011-2014: Teaching within the Earth Science Curriculum at ETH Zurich (M.Sc courses "Limnogeology", "Sedimentary Rocks in the field", "Marine Geology and Geochemistry" and B.Sc courses "Geological Field course I & II" "Sedimentology"
2007-2011: Lecturer within B.Sc (“Interdisciplinary Project on sediment cores”) and graduate-school course (“Mass wasting along continental margins”) at University of Bremen, Germany;
(Co-)organizer and lecturer during Summer Schools
2018: Lecturer within IODP Core-Log Sceismic Integration at Sea (CSLI@Sea) onboard D/V Chikyu during IODP Exp 380, Jan 2018
2016: Lecturer within ECORD summer school on "Submarine Geohazards " in Bremen, 5 - 16 September 2016
2012: Co-organizer of ECORD summer school on "Submarine Landslides, Earthquakes and Tsunamis" in Bremen, 3 - 14 September 2012
Selected Scholarly Activities/Services * indicates (co-)leadership activities
- *Scientific committee member IODP/ECORD PROCEED Workshop 2019
- Delegate for Austria in ECORD Sci. Support & Advisory Committee (since 2019)
- Member of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Science Advisory Structure (Proposal/Science evaluation panel 2011-2013; since 2014 Science Evaluation Panel) representing the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD): *Sub-group chair (Theme: Earth in Motion); 2011-2014
- *(Co-)convener International Workshops (Tacking Tsunamigenic Slip in the Japan Trench, Tokyo, Japan, May 15-17, 2014; Submarine Paleoseismology Workshop, Zurich, July 16-18,2015
- *Co-organizer of ECORD summer school on "Submarine Landslides, Earthquakes and Tsunamis" in Bremen, 3 - 14 September 2012
- *Co-chair of UNESCO – International Geoscience Program IGCP-585, 2010 - 2014: Earth´s continental Margins: assessing the geohazard from submarine landslides (E-MARSHAL); IGCP-640, since 2015: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications and Economic Significance of Submarine Landslides across the World’s Continental Margins (S4LIDE)
- Scientific advisory board member of Geologische Vereinigung Deutschland (GV; 2013-2014) and int. conferences and symposia (19th Sedimentological Congress 2014, Geneva; 3rdWorld Landslide Forum 2014, Beijing; Int. Symposiums on Submarine Mass Movements and their Consequences: 5th ISSMMTC 2011, Kyoto, Japan; and 6th ISSMMTC 2013, Kiel, Germany)
- *(Co-)convener of sessions at Int. Geoscience Conferences (EGU 2011/2012/2013, JpGU 2011/2013/2015/2016, AGU 2010/2014, and Int. Sedimentology Congress 2010*; 2014*)
- Editorial board member for Springer book (Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Series): Submarine mass movements and their consequences, 2012; 2014; Guest editor Marine Geology thematic issue on submarine paleoseismology 2016
- Peer reviews of articles and research proposals for several journals including Nature Geoscience, Nature Scientific Reports, Geology, EPSL, GRL, and funding agencies including NSF, DFG, ÖAD
Invited lectures at universities, scholarly institutions and international conferences
Invited seminar and colloquiums presentation
- University of Viewnna (2018)
- National Taiwan University (2018)
- University of Potsdam (2017)
- University of Salzburg (2016)
- University of Innsbruck (2014)
- University of Oxford (2014)
- University of Hamburg (2014)
- University of Trieste (2014)
- Swiss Embassy Tokyo, Jp (2012)
- JAMSTEC Yokohama, Jp (2011)
- IODP Kochi Core Centre, Kochi, Jp (2011),
- Niwa (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research),Wellington, NZ; (2011),
- ISMAR (Instituto die Scienze Marine) Bologna, I (2011),
- Fukada Geological Institute, Tokyo, Jp (2010),
- University of Geneva, CH (2010),
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, USA (2009),
- U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, USA (2006),
- ODP-Student-Trainee lecture Tour at Swiss Universities (2003)
Invited conference talks
- JpGU (2018)
- EGU (2018)
- AGU (2017)
- AGU (2015)
- AOGS (2014)
- ISC (2014)
- AGU (2011),
- JpGU (2011),
- EGU (2011),
- IAS (2008)