Research Ambassadors Profiles

Meet our DAAD Research Ambassadors! They are scholars and scientists in North America who have conducted advanced long-term research projects in Germany and are happy to help by sharing their experiences with you and answering any questions your may have. Use the interactive map below to locate a Research Ambassador near you.

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Aftab Ahmed

Research Associate Professor, Chapman University School of Pharmacy – Irvine, California

Research Interests: Protein purification and characterization (Proteomics)
University/Research Institution in Germany: Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried

E-mail: aahmed@chapman.edu
Richard S. Ascough

Professor, School of Religion– Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

Research Interests: Religious Studies – Origins of Christianity
University/Research Institution in Germany: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Mϋnster

E-mail: rsa@queensu.ca
Thomas Baumgarte

William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, USA

Research Interests: General Relativity
University/Research Institution in Germany: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; MPI Astrophysik, Garching

E-mail: tbaumgar@bowdoin.edu
Mark Beirn

Global Risk Manager - University of California, Irvine - Ph.D. Candidate in History - Washington University in St. Louis

Research Interests: History, Environmental & Urban Humanities, STS, Global Risk, International Education
University/Research Institution in Germany: FU Berlin, TU Berlin, Berlin Public Library

E-mail: mbeirn@uci.edu
Jürgen F. Brune

Research Professor – Mining Engineering, College of Earth - Resource Sciences and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Research Interests: Mine Ventilation, Mine Safety and Health, Coal Mining, Mine Fire and Explosion Prevention
University/Research Institution in Germany: TU Clausthal

E-mail: jbrune@mines.edu
Jochen Burgtorf

Professor of History – California State University, Fullerton (CSUF)

Research Interests: Medieval history
University/Research Institution in Germany: Pius Stiftung/Akademie der Wissenschaften (AdW) Göttingen; Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf; Monumenta Germaniae Historica, München

E-mail: jburgtorf@fullerton.edu
Markus Chmielus

Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering Program Director, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science – University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests: Advanced and Additive Manufacturing of Bulk, Porous, and Thin Films Metals, Carbides, and Multifunctional Magnetic Materials
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Stuttgart/Technical University Berlin/Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy

E-mail: chmielus@pitt.edu
Albrecht Classen

University Distinguished Professor of German Studies, The University of Arizona, Tucson

Research Interests: medieval and early modern German and European literature, cultural history, history of mentality, everyday culture, interdisciplinary research, gender studies, and comparative literature
University/Research Institution in Germany: Universities in Freiburg, Marburg, Frankfurt a. M., Leipzig, Halle, Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel

E-mail: aclassen@email.arizona.edu
John F. Corrigan

Professor and Chair Department of Chemistry University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

Research Interests: Inorganic and Nanomaterials Chemistry
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

E-mail: johnc@uwaterloo.ca
Carol Anne Costabile-Heming

Professor of German – University of North Texas, Denton

Research Interests: German literature and culture, German film, memory studies
Universities/Research Institutes in Germany: Zentrum für zeithistorische Forschung, Potsdam, Humboldt Universität, Berlin; Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Marbach

E-mail: carolanne.costabile-heming@unt.edu
James Coulton

Professor Emeritus - McGill University

Research Interests: Biomedical sciences; Molecular microbiology
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Tuebingen, University of Konstanz, University of Freiburg

E-mail: james.coulton@mcgill.ca
Carla Damiano

Professor of German - Eastern Michigan University

Research Interests: German Literature - 20th century to present
University Research Institution in Germany: Walter Kempowski Archiv, Berlin; University of Bielefeld

E-mail: cdamiano@emich.edu
Jonathan Fine

Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies – Brown University

Research Interests: German literature and intellectual history
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Potsdam; FU Berlin

E-mail: jonathan_fine@brown.edu
Thian Yew Gan

Research Interests: Hydrologic processes and modeling, climatology, remote sensing, climate change, water resources management and planning, and snow hydrology.
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Technical University Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich

E-mail: tgan@ualberta.ca
Heidi Gottfried

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology – Wayne State University

Research Interests: Work Transformation, social policy, gender and inequality
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Institute fuer Soziologie, University of Hamburg

E-mail: heidi.gottfried@wayne.edu
George Heffernan

Professor, Department of Philosophy – Merrimack College, Massachusetts

Research Interests: Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Ethics (esp. Contemporary Moral Problems,e.g. environmental, medical, technological issues)
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: University of Cologne (PhD 1981, sabbatical research 1998); Freie Universitaet Berlin (sabbatical research 2003)

E-mail: George.Heffernan@merrimack.edu
Boerge Hemmerling

Assistant Professor of Physics – University of California, Riverside

Research Interests: Atomic, molecular and optical physics
University/Research Institution in Germany: Leibniz University of Hannover; Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig; University of Heidelberg

E-mail: boergeh@ucr.edu
Matthias Hofferberth

Assistant Professor, Political Science & Geography – University of Texas at San Antonio, TX, USA

Research Interests: International relations and globalizationUniversity/Research Institution in Germany: Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main; Westfällische Wilhelms-Universität, Mϋnster

E-mail: matthias.hofferberth@utsa.edu
Babak Vajdi Hokmabad

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Princeton University

Research Interests: Active Matter, Soft Matter
University/Research Institution in Germany: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen

E-mail: hokmabad@princeton.edu
Kristopher Imbrigotta

Visiting Assistant Professor of German – University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA

Research Interests: 18th-20th century German literature and culture, Visual Culture studies, Theater and Performance, Historiography, Narratology
University/Research Institution in Germany: Universität Hamburg; Akademie der Künste / Bertolt-Brecht-Archiv, Berlin

E-mail: kimbrigotta@pugetsound.edu
Ivan Korendovych

Associate Professor, Chemistry – Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Research Interests: Biochemistry, biophysics, protein design and engineering
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Marburg; University of Greifswald

E-mail: ikorendo@syr.edu
Julia Lalande

Director of Research and Evaluation at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, ON

Research Interests: Eastern European Migration to Canada
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Hamburg

E-mail: Julia.lalande@osc.on.ca
Ann Lemke

Oboe Instructor – Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Visiting Scholar – Germanic Languages & Literatures, The University of Michigan

Research Interests: German literature and music, women composers & writers, musicology, Goethe
University/Research Institution in Germany: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Karl-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

E-mail: lemkestudio@gmail.com
Alexander Lerch

Assistant Professor, Center for Music Technology – Georgia Institute of Technology

Research Interests: Music Information Retrieval & Music Technology
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Technische Universitaet Berlin

E-mail: alexander.lerch@gatech.edu
Sebastian Luft

Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy – Marquette University

Research Interests: 19th and 20th century European philosophy, philosophy of culture.
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Universität Würzburg, Universität Freiburg i.Br. (Husserl-Archiv)

E-mail: Sebastian.Luft@marquette.edu
Karsten Lunze

Assistant Professor – School of Medicine, Boston University

Research Interests: Maternal and newborn health, HIV prevention among key populations
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Charité Medical School, Berlin

E-mail: karsten.lunze@post.harvard.edu
Pierre Mertiny

Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) in the Faculty of Engineering – University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Research Interests: Polymer composite materials, composite pressure vessels and piping, nanocomposites, composite energy storage flywheel rotors
University/Research Institution in Germany: Universität Hannover, Technische Universität München

E-mail: pmertiny@ualberta.ca
Brian S. Mitchell

Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering – Tulane University

Research Interests: Nanostructured Materials Processing
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Bergakademie Freiberg/BAM; DLR; Max Planck Inst. F. Kolloids

E-mail: brian@tulane.edu
Gerhard Multhaup

Professor and Canada Research Chair (CRC) – Tier 1 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences McGill University

Research Interests: Biomedical pharmacology; neurodegeneration and amyloid toxicity
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Freie Universitaet of Berlin (FUB) and the University of Heidelberg (ZMBH)

E-mail: gerhard.multhaup@mcgill.ca
Janine Murphy

Faculty Researcher - College of the North Atlantic

Research Interests: 19th-century Germany; migration and settler colonialism; reconciliation through education
University/Research Institution in Germany: Friedrich Schiller University Jena; Justus Liebig University of Giessen; Goethe University Frankfurt; Carl Duisberg Centrum Dortmund

E-mail: janine.murphy@cna.nl.ca
John L. Plews

Associate Professor of Modern Languages (German) – Saint Mary’s University

Research Interests: Second Language Education, Study Abroad for Second Languages
University/Research Institution in Germany: Canadian Summer School in Germany (Kassel); Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

E-mail: jlplews@daad-ambassadors.org
Morgan Rich

Assistant Director of the Center for European Studies - University of Florida

Research Interests: Historical Musicology
University/Research Institution in Germany: Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung, Berlin; Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno Archive, Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Theodor W. Adorno Archive, Uni. Frankfurt

E-mail: morganmrich@gmail.com
Christoph Schaal

Assistant Professor – California State University, Northridge

Research Interests: Ultrasonics and applied mechanics
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Stuttgart

E-mail: christoph.schaal@csun.edu
Charlotte Schallie

Professor of Germanic Studies and Chair – University of Victoria

Research Interests: Post-1945 diasporic and transcultural writing/filmmaking, memory studies, Jewish identity in contemporary cultural discourse; Holocaust studies; genocide and human rights education; arts-based action research
University/Research Institution in Germany: Zentrum fuer Antisemitismusforschung (TU Berlin); Stadtmuseum Erlangen

E-mail: schallie@uvic.ca
Ingo Schlupp

Presidential Professor of Biology CAS, University of Oklahoma

Research Interests: Evolutionary Ecology of Fishes
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Potsdam, Brandenburg

E-mail: schlupp@ou.edu
Simone Seym

Goethe-Institut – Washington, D.C.

Research Interests: German and European Cultural Studies, Sustainable Film and Performing Arts
Universities/Research Institutions in Germany: University of Karlsruhe; University of Mannheim

E-mail: s.seym@me.com
Renu Singh

Ph.D. Candidate – Georgetown University

Research Interests: Political science
University/Research Institution in Germany: Hertie School of Governance, Berlin; Helmholtz Zentrum, Muenchen; LMU and MPI for Social Law and Social Policy, Muenchen

E-mail: renu.singh.87@gmail.com
Christa Spreizer

Associate Professor – Queens College/CUNY

Research Interests: German studies
University/Research Institution in Germany: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; Landesarchiv Berlin; Akademie der Künste, Berlin

E-mail: christine.spreizer@qc.cuny.edu
Swen Steinberg

Postdoctoral Researcher and Assistant Professor – Queen’s University

Research Interests: History of knowledge/knowledge and migration/knowledge and young immigrants; environmental knowledge; refugees and borderlands; economic history and corporate cultures 19th/20th century
University/Research Institution in Germany: Technische Universitaet Dresden

E-mail: Swen.Steinberg@queensu.ca
Tricia Striano

Professor, Hunter College &Tricia Striano Inc. | TriciaStriano.com

Research Interests: Infant development, neuroscience, design, real estate
University/Research Institution in Germany: MPI-EVA, Leipzig; MPI-CBS, Leipzig; University of Leipzig, University Osnabrueck

E-mail: triciastrianoa@gmail.com
Alanna Tierno

International Programs Coordinator/Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music History - Shenandoah University

Research Interests: Musicology
University/Research Institution in Germany: Universität Augsburg; Herzog August Bibliothek

E-mail: alanna.tierno@gmail.com
William E. Uspal

Assistant Professor - University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Research Interests: Microhydrodynamics, colloids, microswimmers
University/Research Institution in Germany: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart

E-mail: uspal@hawaii.edu
Brian Van Wyck

Assistant Professor - University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Research Interests: German History; Turkish History; Migration History
University/Research Institution in Germany: Humboldt University, Berlin; Free University, Berlin

E-mail: bvanwyck@umbc.edu
Jonathan Veinot

Professor, Department of Chemistry – University of Alberta

Research Interests: Materials Chemistry, Nanomaterials, Hybrid Functional Materials
University/Research Institution in Germany: Technische Universitaet Muenchen

E-mail: jveinot@ualberta.ca
Gabi N. Waite

Associate Professor, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine

Research Interests: CTraumatic brain injury, hypoxia, oxidative stress, medical and health education
University/Research Institution in Germany: University of Hohenheim, University of Heidelberg (sabbatical)

E-mail: gnindl@iupui.edu
David J. Westenberg

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemical and Biochemical Engineering – Missouri University of Science and Technology

Research Interests: Plant-microbe interactions, antibacterial materials and science education
University/Research Institution in Germany: Institute for Microbiology, Göttingen, Department of Cell Biology and Applied Botany, Marburg

E-mail: djwesten@mst.edu