I studied mathematics in Clausthal-Zellerfeld and Bonn, Germany, from 1981 to 1984, and Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin from 1984 to 1989. After finishing my studies with the "Diplom" (M.S.) degree in Berlin I obtained a scholarship for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, U.S.A., for the year 1989/90.
Then I was a research assistant at the Technical University of Berlin from 1990 to 1992, a graduate student and teaching assistant at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, U.S.A., in 1993, and a research assistant at the University of Bonn, Germany, in 1994. I was with the University of Hannover, Germany, since 1995, where I received my Ph.D. degree, with Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and Agere Systems from 1998 to 2001, and am with the Fraunhofer Institute, Group for Electronic Media Technology (AEMT), Ilmenau, since 2001.
In January 2004 the Group for Electronic Media Technology became the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT.
For the summer semester 2005 and winter semester 2005/06 I became temporary full professor at the Insitute of Media Technology of the Technical University of Ilmenau, Germany. Since sommer semester 2008 I am a full professor of the Technical University of Ilmenau, and part time member of Fraunhofer IDMT.