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I am affiliated to the School of Engineering of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where I work at the Institute for Materials and Processes in the research team of statistical physicist Prof. Dr. Michael Zaiser. His research comprises dislocations dynamics and plasticity, multiscale modelling of plasticity and fracture in heterogeneous materials.
I recently concluded my Ph.D. formation in materials science at the 'Institut fuer Zuverlaessigkeit von Bauteilen und Systemen' of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Peter Gumbsch. His research comprises multiscale materials modelling and molecular dynamics
My main interest is in understanding the role of anticracking in the formation of snow slab avalanches. Unlike previous models of avalanche release, anticracking takes into account the loss of volume of snow under fracture. The theory explains why compression is more effective than shear for the propagation of fracture between two adjacent layers of snow.
European project TRIGS
My current position at Edinburgh University is funded by the European research project TRIGS on the triggering of instabilities in materials and geosystems. The TRIGS project belongs to the sixth framework programme of the European Commission and to the "New and Emerging Science and Technology Pathfinder". The objective of TRIGS is the search for macroscopic laws based on microscopic physics to understand the formation of extreme events in nature, such as landslides, snow avalanches and earthquakes.