Born on 28th July, 1954, in Gelsenkirchen-Buer. Study of mathematics and physics Münster Univ. (1972-1978), degree and doctorate (1978), habilitation (1981), Professor at Wuppertal Univ. (1982-1984) and Princeton Univ. (1985-1994), Director (since 1995) and Scientific Member (since 1994) at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics.