Curriculum Vitae
Born February 3,1952 in Cologne
1970 – 1976 Studied German Studies, Latin Studies and Linguistics at
the universities in Bonn and Lausanne (Switzerland)
1975 – 1980 Studied Psychology as a major at Rheinische Friedrich-
Wilhelms Universität Bonn
1976 Graduated in German Studies (Dr. phil.), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms
University Bonn
1980 Diploma in Psychology (Dipl.-Psych.), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-
University Bonn
1986 Professorial dissertation in Psychology at Justus-Liebig University
Gießen
Academic Career
1978 – 1979 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Psychology,
Cambridge, MA, USA: Post-doc scholarship holder
and Aphasia Research Center, V.A. Medical Center and Department
of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA: Post-
Doc, sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
1979 – 1989 Max-Planck-Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Holland
1979 – 1981 Scholarship holder, sponsored by Max Planck Society
1981 – 1986 Academic assistant, sponsored by the Dutch
Science Foundation (ZWO)
1987 – 1989 Heisenberg scholarship holder, sponsored by DFG
1984 – 1985 Laboratoire de Psychologie Experimentale, Unisersité René Descartes,
Paris, France: scholarship holder, sponsored by the European Science
Foundation (ESF)
1988 University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA, USA:
Research at the Center for Cognitive Science,
1989 – 1991 Free University of Berlin: C3-University professor for life in
Psychology (field of expertise: cognitive science)
1991 Philipps University Marburg: call to a C4 professorship for General
Psychology (turned down)
1991 – 1994 Free University of Berlin: C4 university professor for Cognitive
Psychology
1993 – 1994 Free University of Berlin: managing director of the Institute for
Psychology
since1994 Max Planck Institute for Neuropsychological Research in Leipzig (since 2004
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences):
Founding director, scientific member and member of the college
since 1995 University of Leipzig: honorary professorship in the
Faculty of Life Sciences, Pharmacy, and Psychology
since 1997 University of Potsdam: honorary professorship in the Philosophical Faculty II
since 2004 Charité Medical University in Berlin: honorary professorship
Research Administration
1994 – 1998 Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences: Member of the
board
1996 – 2001 German Research Foundation: member of the senate
since 2002 Max Planck Society: member of the senate
since 2003 Max Planck Society: member of the senate
since 2003 Federal Ministry of Education and Research: member of the Health Research Council
2005 – 2007 Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences: vice president
2006 – 2009 Max Planck Society: Chair of the Scientific Council
Scientific Awards
1987 – 1989 Heisenberg Scholarship of the German Research Foundation
1990 Alfried-Krupp-Scholarship for young professors from the Alfried Krupp
von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation (550,000 US$)
1997 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award of the German Research Society
(975,000 US$)
1999 – 2000 DaimlerChrysler Scholarship at Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin)
Memberships in Academies
1993 Promotion to full member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of
Sciences (BBAW)
2000 Promotion to member of the German Academy of Sciences
'Leopoldina' (since 2008 National Academy of the Sciences)
2007 Promotion to member of the Academia Europaea