about me

Grew up at butt-end of the World – also called “small East German village.” Total loser at school, then went out with little hammer & little chisel to help tear down the Berlin wall. End of communism resulted in beginning of creative freedom. Best thing ever! Even learned something in school.

Somehow ended up at university, studied biology, graduated, went with ship across the Atlantic (marine biology, yay!), chucked 20.000€ worth of sampling equipment into the deep sea (hauled it up again, phew!), got some price fellowship from Caltechwithout realising they hand out only one per year, and returned to Germany two years later.

Got an adjunct professorship in environmental microbiology; blogged for Nature and Spektrum der Wissenschaft. Got a full professorship and immediately handed in my notice.

Now I’m a Scribbler of Things (which somehow resulted in an award and several countries translating & publishing my stuff), workshop-giver for creative science writing, mentor for the Afghan Women Writing Project, house-fixer-upper, veggie-grower, cheese-maker and goatherd. Oh, and owl rehabber. Oh! And mistress of chaos!