I was born and raised in the foothills of the alps in Upper Austria and studied Chemistry at the University of Vienna. I developed an early interest in bioinorganic and coordination chemistry, and my PhD studies in the Keppler group focused on ‘redox activated ruthenium anticancer drugs’. I subsequently changed from medicinal inorganic chemistry to different aspects of bio-inspired energy conversion as a postdoc. In the Lippard group at MIT, I studied synthetic models of the diiron(II) active site of soluble Methane Monooxygenase, which selectively converts natural gas to methanol. I subsequently joined the Armstrong group in Oxford to work on solar hydrogen production with enzyme-nanoparticle hybrid systems.

My independent career started with an EPSRC research fellowship at The University of Manchester, followed by a University Lectureship at the University of Cambridge. I am currently the Professor of Energy and Sustainability and a Fellow of St. John’s College in Cambridge. I am also coordinating the UK Solar Fuels network, which organises the national activities in artificial photosynthesis, and the Cambridge Creative Circular Plastics Centre.