Please give us a personal quote or a quote of a famous person (e.g. of Albert Einstein) that describes you and your life/work.
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” (Isaac Newton)

Please describe your job in only one sentence and tell us what the most important goal of this work is.
I study indicators of dispersal processes in planet-forming circumstellar disks. Understanding how the natal envirnonment of planets (the disks) evolve and disperse is crucial for constraining the planets characteristics.

How did you get into this research/work field?
Analysis of disk dispersal processes has always been my passion. I started already during my PhD, and I kept my passion and enthusiasm for the following 2 Post-Docs. Our understanding of the disks formation and dissipation is everyday challenged by the discovery of planets, spiral structures, gaps and holes in the disks. These continuous discoveries are the best incentives ever to build upon previous knowledge, and to make steps forward.

What would be the greatest discovery you would like to see in your life time?
A global comprehension of the disks dissipation and planets formation.

You work for the NCCR PlanetS. What do you think will the NCCR enable you to do you couldn’t do without it?
Having the possibility to talk with experts in different fields is a great strength of being part of the NCCR. This allows you to build a wide understanding of the project you are working on, putting your results into a more general and broad context.