* 04.01.1973 in Hanau, Germany Nationality: German
work address: Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, MSD2080, Malta

1998 - 2003 University of Maastricht

• Ph.D. student at the University of Maastricht, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience
• Ph.D. Thesis "Understanding 'gardem bench': Studies on the perception of assimilated words forms" (cum laude)

1993 - 1998 University of Bielefeld & University of Leiden

• Master in Psychology, majored in "Experimental Psychology"
• Master Thesis: "Investigations of the Stroop-dilution effect" with Prof. Dr. Neumann (Bielefeld) and Prof. Dr. van der Heijden (Leiden)

1985 - 1992 Hohe Landesschule, Hanau, Germany

• Abitur (grammar school)

2017 (summer term) Visiting Professor University of Tübingen English linguistics

2015 (summer term) Visiting Professor University of Tübingen English linguistics

2013 -      Associate Professor, University of Malta

2003 - 2013 Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

• independent scientific research
• Supervision of Masters- and Ph.D. Students

1998 - 2003 University of Maastricht

• 80% Ph.D. student
• 20% junior lecturer

1992 - 1993 City of Bruchköbel, Germany

• Civil service (care for the severely handicapped)

The Computational Architecture of Spoken-Word Recognition

• Recognition of phonological variant forms arising from reduction, and deletion; compensation for speaker differences through auditory processes and perceptual learning
• Understanging the alphabet of speech
• Compensation for physical and socio-linguistic speaker differences through auditory processes and perceptual learning
• Speech production and perception in dialogue
• The MisMatch Negativity as a tool for speech-perception research

Applied Psycholinguistics

• Learning to read and spoken-word recognition
• Phonological learning in a second language
• phonological representations in normal L1 and L2 processing as well as in impaired (i.e., dyslexic) processing

Eduction in Teaching

• Training at the University of Maastricht (with certificate in "Problem-based Learning")

Undergraduate level

• Teaching in Statistics and Research Methods, Cognitive Psychology, and Psycholinguistics at the Universities of Nijmegen, Konstanz, Tübingen, and Malta
• Supervision of undergraduate interns

Graduate level

• Supervision of Master and Ph.D. Students
• Teaching in Programming
• Lecturer at the LOT Graduate Winterschool 2013 on Phonetics/Phonology

Courses taught

• University of Malta, Bachelor Human Speech Technology: Experimental Psycholinguistics
• University of Malta, Master in Cognitive Science: Research Methods in Cognitive Science, Psycholinguistics, Programming in Python, Language in Use, Perception and Action
• Universität Tübingen (FB Anglistik, SS2017): Second-language acquisition between theory and practice (Hauptseminar)
• Universität Tübingen (FB Anglistik, SS2015): Processing Multiple Languages (Hauptseminar), Research Methods in Linguistics (Proseminar)
• Landelijke Onderzoeksschool Taal: Recognizing Spoken Words
• IMPRS for Language Science, Nijmegen (SS2012): Programming in Praat and Perl
• Universität Konstanz (SS 2011): Einführung in die Neurolinguistik

• 2018-2019 University of Malta Research Grant: Processing connected speech in a Semitic language (6k€)
• 2017 Grant from the Excellence Initiative for a visiting professorship at the University of Tübingen (6k€).
• 2016-2019 Global Network Research Grant (210k€) with Taehong Cho and Sahyang Kim (Seoul) and Anne Cutler (UWS) on Prosodically-conditioned fine-tuning of coarticulatory vowel nasalization in L1 vs. L2 and its perceptual consequences.
• 2014-2016 Global Network Research Grant (67k€) with Taehong Cho and Sahyang Kim (Seoul) on Prosodic processing in Korean and English
• 2014-2016 University of Malta Research Grant: Production and Perception of morphemic consonant sequences (10k€)
• 2009-2012 Grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Council, DFG) in the framework of the priority program 1234 "Phonological and phonetic competence", Project: "Adapting to phonological reduction" (3 years)
• 2006-2009 Grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Council, DFG) in the framework of the priority program 1234 "Phonological and phonetic competence", Project: "The functional phonology of reduced forms" (3 years)
• 2000 Travel grant awarded by the 2nd International Congress on MisMatch Negativity and its Clinical Applications
• 1997-1998 Study abroad grant from the Westfälisch-Lippischen Universitätsgesellschaft, Bielefeld, to study in Leiden, the Netherlands

Languages

• German (native)
• English (near-native)
• Dutch (near-native)
• Maltese (basic)
• Latin

Methods

• EEG data-acquisition and -analysis with MatLab, NeuroScan, or BrainVision
• Own toolbox for eye-movement analysis (written in PERL)
• Auditory signal analysis and manipulation for the speech signal
• Advanced Statistics (using R) and Linear Algebra

• 18.05.2018 Keynote speaker Hanyang Interntional Symposium on Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language 2018
• 17.-20.05.2017 Keynote at the Conference MultiMeDialecTranslation 7 – Dialektübersetzung in Multimedia, University Odense, Denmark
• 24.-26.08.2016 Invited speaker at the DFG Workshop: “Spoken Morphology: Phonetics and Phonology of Complex Words”
• 13.03.2016 New York University of Abu Dhabi: Colloquium “How spoken- and written-word recognition are not two sides of the same coin”
• 16.-18.12.2013 Workshop at the Universität Köln on Eye-tracking
• 05.06.2013 Invited Speaker at the 21th International Congress on Acoustics, Montreal, Canada
• 21.-22.03.2013 Workshop at the Hungarian Academy of Science on Eye-tracking
• 04.01.2013. Invited speaker at the London Meeting of the Experimental Psychological Society
• 20.11.2012. Invited speaker on Statistics for the Workshop "Cognitive and linguistic mechanisms of anaphoric reference in literary and non-literary text"
• 13.10.2012 Colloquium Universiteit Leiden "Insights from lexically-guided learning on the perceptual representation of speech".
• 01.10.2012 Invited Talk at the Zentrum für allgemeine Sprachwissenschaften, Berlin "Recognizing words that start wrong".
• 23.08.2012 Colloquium Ohio State University (with Eva Reinisch) "Perceptual Learning in Speech is a Rudimentary and Robust Process".
• 27.07.2012. Invited discussant at the 13. "Laboratory Phonology" Conference, Stuttgart.
• 22.02.2012. Lecturer at the BiMM 2012: Bielefeld Mixed Models Workshop.
• 09.12.2011. Keynote speaker at the Workshop "Accommodation to a dialogue partner in perception and production", Laboratoire Parole et Langage, Aix-en-Provence, France.
• 17.06.2011. Language and Cognition Colloquium Birmingham University "Using Prior Knowledge to Adjust the Perception of Tones, Phones, Accents, and Colours".
• 13.09.2010. Colloquium LMU München, Institut für Phonetik und Sprachverarbeitung: "Shadowing, phonetic imitation, and the role of articulatory gestures in speech perception".
• 08.03.2010. Bristol University, UK: Workshop on Psycholinguistic Approaches to Speech Perception in Adverse Conditions: "Perception of phonologically reduced variants in conversational speech".
• 16.04.2010. Universiteit van Amsterdam, Workshop on Using Eye-tracking in Linguistics and Cognitive Science: "Eye-tracking reveals how we deal with phonological variants" & "Data collection and analysis in the visual world paradigm".
• 08.10.2009. Emory University, Atlanta, GA: " Knowledge-guided perceptual learning in speech: theoretical and practical implications".
• 02.02.2009. Colloquium LMU München, Institut für Phonetik und Sprachverarbeitung: " How speech is special, ... and not".
• 18.11.2008. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Colloquium Psychology & Linguistics: "Context effects on different processing levels in the perception of speech".
• 30.10.2008. Universiteit Leiden, Colloquium Language & Communication: "How speech is special, ... and not".
• 15.06.2008. Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, The First Nijmegen Speech Reduction Workshop: Disappearing sound: "Different processing mechanisms for apparently similar reductions" (with Mirjam Ernestus and James McQueen).
• 26.05.2008. RWTH Aachen, Colloquium Psychologie: "How speech is special, ... and not".
• 08.02.2007. Universität Stuttgart, Colloquium am Institut für maschinelle Sprachverabeitung: "Context effects on different processing levels in the perception of speech".
• 25.10.2006. Universiteit Leiden, Colloquium Psychologie: "Challenges of connected-speech processing: The case of word-final /t/".

Editorial Work

• Editor-in-Chief Language and Speech (since 2018)
• Associate Editor Laboratory Phonology (2013-2018)
• Member of the Editorial Board Journal of Phonetics

Reviewing

- Psychology

• Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
• Cognition
• Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
• Journal of Memory and Language
• Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
• Developmental Science

- Linguistics

• Journal of Phonetics (also Member of the Editorial Board)
• Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
• Phonology
• Speech Communication

- Cognitive Neuroscience

• Brain Research
• Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
• Psychophysiology

- Grant Agencies

• Member of the Psychology Panel for the Academy of Finland (2017 & 2018)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)
• Marsden Fund (NZ)

Workshop & Conference Organization

• Architectures and Mechanisms of Language Processing (AMLAP) 2015, Valletta, Malta
• 13th Winter conference of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie (Dutch Psychonomic Association), December 2011, Egmond aan Zee (Member of Organization Committee)
• 12th Winter conference of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie on Cognition, Brain, and Behaviour, December 2009, Egmond aan Zee (Head of Organization Committee)
• 11th Winter conference of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie on Cognition, Brain, and Behaviour, December 2007, Egmond aan Zee (Head of Organization Committee)
• Phonetics & Phonology 4 Meeting, October 2007, Nijmegen
• 2nd meeting of the DFG Priority Program SPP1234 "Phonetic and phonological competence", October 2007, Nijmegen

Treasurer

• of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie (Dutch Psychonomic Association)
• of the Bicycling Advocary Group Malta

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