Born 1951 in Solingen. Study of physics and chemistry, doctorate Cologne Univ. (1978), postdoc Univ. of Pennsylvania (1979-1981), German Habilitation Cologne Univ. (1983), Professor of Physical Chemistry Erlangen Univ. (1983), Professor in Physical Chemistry Bochum Univ. (1987), Director and Scientific Member at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (1996-2019), emeritus since 2019, Honorary Professor Bochum TU (1996), Berlin Free Univ. (1997), Berlin TU (1997) and Berlin Humboldt Univ. (1998).