His research interests focus on soft matter, biophysics, nanotechnology, materials sciences, on the characterization of soft and biological matter with light, X-ray and neutron scattering, and on the development of new instruments for this task.

He received his PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) in Zurich in 1984. After working as a postdoc at Lund University, Sweden, MIT and Harvard University Medical School, he spent 12 years as a senior researcher at the Department of Materials of ETHZ. In 1999 he was appointed as the chair in experimental soft matter physics at the University of Fribourg. In 2006 he founded the Fribourg Center for Nanomaterials, and became the first director of the newly founded Adolphe Merkle Institute for Pure and Applied Nanoscience in 2008. He moved to Lund University at the end of 2010. He has been elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and as an honorary member of the European Colloid and Interface Society. He is co-founder and board member of the company LS Instruments.

Academic background

2010 - :  Professor, Physical Chemistry, Lund University, Sweden
2008 - 2010:  Founding Director of the Adolphe Merkle Institute for Pure and Applied
     Nanoscience
2008 - 2010:  Full Professor in Experimental Physics and Nanoscience, University
     of Fribourg
2006 - 2007:  Founding Director Fribourg Center for Nanomaterials
2001 - 2003:  President of the Department of Physics, University of Fribourg
2000 - :  Co-founder, CEO (2000–2008) and board member of LS Instruments Inc.
1999 - 2008:  Full Professor in Experimental Physics, University of Fribourg
1997 - 1999:  Titularprofessor (Honorary Professor), Polymer Institute, ETH Zürich
1996:  Guest Professor, Institut für Physikalische Chemie, University of Graz, Austria
1992 - 1997:  Wissenschaftlicher Adjunkt (Tenured Senior Researcher) and Privatdozent
     (Lecturer), Polymer Institute, ETH Zürich
1987 - 1992:  Oberassistent (Senior Researcher), Polymer Institute, ETH Zürich
1986 - 1987:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics, MIT,
     and Research Fellow in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harward
     University Medical School
1985 - 1986:  Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics, MIT
1984 - 1985:  Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Physics, ETH Zürich
1984:  Postdoctoral Researcher, Physical Chemistry 1, Lund University
1980 - 1984:  Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Physics, ETH Zürich