Personal

  • born April 25 1959 in Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg)
  • married with Dorothee Sandmann
  • three children: Max, Mira and Jari
  • ORCID: 0000-0003-4350-9520
  • https://scholar.google.de/citations?hl=de&user=bqvhJ3wAAAAJ


  • Scientific career
  • 1979 Abitur at Herrmann-Hesse-Gymnasium Calw
  • 1979-1981 Study of biology at University of Tübingen
  • 1982-1986 Study of biology at University of Göttingen. Diploma thesis "The effect of earthworms on nutrient cycling in a deciduous forest: Microcosm experiments" (translated title)
  • 1987-1989 PhD at University of Göttingen, Department of Ecology. PhD thesis "The saprophagous soil macrofauna (Diplopoda, Isopoda and Lumbricidae) in ecosystems on limestone: Succession und nutrient turnover" (translated title)
  • 1989-1995 Postdoc at University of Göttingen, Department of Ecology, Professor Matthias Schaefer
  • 1992-1993 Postdoc at University of Calgary, Soil Ecology Group, Professor Dennis Parkinson
  • 1995 Habilitation in Zoology at the University of Göttingen. Habilitation thesis "Soil fauna and microflora in beech forests: Interaction of populations, element cycling and plant growth"
  • 1995-1997 Lecturer for Zoology (Wissenschaftlicher Assistent), University of Göttingen
  • 1997-2008 Professor for Zoology and Ecology at Darmstadt University of Technology
  • 1999-2002 Head of the Institute of Zoology
  • 2000-2002 Dean of the Faculty of Biology
  • 2001-2008 Co-chair of the Ecology Study Group of the German Zoological Society (DZG)
  • 2004-2008 Member of the Evaluation Commitee of Zoology of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • 2012-2016 Member of the Evaluation Commitee of Zoology of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • 2016-2019 Member of the board of the Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL) of the University of Göttingen
  • Since 2008 Professor of Animal Ecology at University Göttingen
  • Since 2009 Chair of Section "Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution" of the Centre of Biodiversity and sustainable land use of the University of Göttingen
  • Since 2012 Speaker of Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 990) "Ecological and socioeconomic functions of tropical lowland rainforest transformation systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)" - EFForTS – (https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/310995.html)
  • Since 2020 Speaker of the Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL) of the University of Göttingen (https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/524600.html)

  • Editorials
  • Editorial board of Basic and Applied Ecology, Food Webs, Frontiers in Zoology, Oecologia, Pedobiologia and Plant Nutrition and Soil Science
  • Editor in Chief of Pedobiologia (1998-2013)
  • Subject Editor of Soil Biology and Biochemistry (1997-2010)
  • Since 2023: Editor of the BROHMER – Fauna von Deutschland; preparation of the 26th edition

  • Hobbies
  • Nature on land and in water
  • Hiking
  • Under water rugby
  • Sailing
  • Diving