About Me

  • I was born in Mistelbach, Austria, in 1957 with ancestors widely spread over central and northern Europe. From 1976 to 1982, I studied mainly physics and mathematics at the TU Wien and was awarded a PhD in physics (Dr. tech.) from the TU with a thesis on velocity distributions of sputtered atoms under the supervision of Prof. Franz Viehböck 
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  • Thereafter I stayed a few years at the Atominstitut Wien, and then continued working for the International Atomioc Energy Agency (IAEA) directly, developing a novel safeguards device, LASSY
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  • Following a secondment to the CCR Ispra, Italy, I joined the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland, as a project manager and chief engineer for the Swiss contributions to XMM Newton in 1989. I was head of the PSI space technology group and deputy head of the Laboratory for Astrophysics at PSI. For XMM, I devised amongst others the cooling systems of the scientific X-Ray instruments. Besides smaller contributions, I was responsible for the telescope body of the NASA mission RHESSI
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  • In 2002 I was appointed by the director of PSI as project manager for the first one Megawatt spallation target in the world, MEGAPIE. For this, I conceived amongst other things a completely new safety system (VIMOS) for PSI’s neutron source, SINQ
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  • Beginning in 2006, I was responsible for different tasks in the ESS Preparatory Phase and ESS Preconstruction Phase in the framework of EU projects
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  • Besides managing the Swiss in-kind contributions to the European Spallation Source ESS in Lund, Sweden, since 2012, I have initiated and taken part in scientific studies on velocity distributions of inclusions in electromagnetically agitated liquid metals by means of quantitative neutron imagingˑ

  • After enjoying a quarter of a century with a focus on very interesting, challenging and diverse rather technology-oriented projects, I became the scientific secretary of the PSI Research Commission in 2015 

  • Working on these diverse main topics, I have managed to build up a reputation of being able to think outside of the box by finding novel practical solutions to problems of which the experts were convinced that there would be none (i.e., first, they often saw no problem at all, and, if undeniable, then no obvious feasible solution)

  • Starting as a pastime, I have sketched the Ouroboros Model as an efficient cognitive architecture in the sequel of the work of Otto Selz
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  • About a «natural» interpretation of «timeless» Quantum Mechanics I have thought in the far background of my mind since I started studying physics and heard of the timeindependent version of the Schrödinger equation for the first time; in an extension of the Copenhagen Interpretation, mutually catalyzed emergence of different physical phenomena and our pillars of understanding is proposed. No one fundamental starting point is singled out or required, nor resorting to metaphysical gap fillers
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  • I like “kitchen-physics”, i.e., problems, for which to understand one does not need to study theoretical physics (for a solution, maybe, yes)
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  • I am more interested in big overarching pictures than in intricate and fiddly minute details
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  • The icon tries to tell that I have always strived to combine both purportedly separated cultures, i.e., having one foot deeply rooted in hard science while the other firmly planted in art and humanities in our one world, — with a shared common concept of beauty grounded in the foundations of human cognition

Acknowledgements

are a tricky business, especially when covering some extended period of time; almost certainly, someone important always is forgotten.

In order to avoid that, I just want to globally say thank you to my parents, my wife, my children and family, and to all the friends, colleagues, collaborators, even opponents, as well as some inconspicuous helpers and supporters over the years without whom I could never have come that far