Career Profile
I am an environmental physicist with expertise in atmospheric modelling, data assimilation, and scientific programming. My PhD at Heidelberg University focussed on optimizing urban CO2 emissions using high-resolution meteorological modeling. I combine strong computational and software engineering skills with a drive to make environmental science more quantitative, efficient, and actionable.
Education
- Thesis: Monitoring urban greenhouse gas emissions using high-resolution models
- Aim: Improving greenhouse gas emissions estimates of German metropolitan areas within the joint research project ITMS
- Focus: Environmental physics, computational physics
- Methods: high-resolution meteorological modelling, trace gas transport modelling, data assimilation
- Skills: Python programming, Fortran development, high-performance computing, project management, independent work, data analysis, engaging with project collaborators and stakeholders, public communication of research
- Thesis: Towards urban CO2 emissions monitoring: Evaluation of network sensors and meso-scale modeling
- Focus: Environmental physics, computational physics
- Skills: Python programming, independent work, data analysis
- Thesis: Towards Fast Iterative Learning on the BrainScaleS Neuromorphic Hardware System
- Focus: Computational physics, software engineering
- Skills: C++ software engineering, independent work, data analysis
Experiences
- Member of graduate program on climate science
- Participated in interdisciplinary exchange through workshops, presentations, and discussion
- Awarded a scholarship in the Doktorand:innenprogramm of the German American Fulbright Commission
- Conducted research on WRF-Urban at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado with Prof. Fei Chen
- Participated in multidisciplinary, international graduate school program on Environmental Sciences
- Led the development of the paper Schwerdtle et al., 2023
- Completed coursework in high-performance computing, software engineering, and quantum computing
- Studied social movement theory (political science) and the philosophy of mind and language
Publications
I have authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications in the fields of environmental physics and climate science. I have furthermore published a high-resolution, high-fidelity dataset containing CO and CO2 concentrations as well as meteorological fields over German metropolitan areas and Europe.
OSS Contributions
I initiated and co-led the xwrf development, enabling scalable WRF output analysis in xarray/dask and integrating it into the Pangeo ecosystem.
Conference Contributions
I contributed to various conference contributions and publications during my studies. I also contributed to the development of the Tumble-Vortex Core Line Extraction algorithm, which is used to extract core lines from 3D flow fields and generated test datasets for that study.
Engagement
Project Leader
The Working Group Climate of the Heidelberg chapter of the Green Party had a project for using open-data approaches to develop a vision for a bicycle path network for Heidelberg. This network aims to provide the blueprint for a safe, uninterrupted, and resilient cycling infrastructure which will be able to accommodate the significant increase in cyclists set to accompany the mobility transition.
Key Responsibilities:
- Initiated and coordinated the process to develop the bike path network vision
Key Achievements:
- Established a participatory process with interest groups and stakeholders
- Organized and conducted a public participation event which was attended by ca. 100 citizens
- Working to integrate this vision into the Radstrategie 2030 of the Heidelberg municipal council and administration
Full Stack Developer
The Greenspect Project e.V. was a non-profit association dedicated to making companies’ sustainability reports machine-readable and publicly accessible through the use of convolutional neural networks (CNN).
Key Responsibilities:
- Supporting the development of a CNN for the extraction of sustainability data from company reports
Key Achievements:
- Independently developed a desktop application and backend infrastructure for tagging training data
- Developed an infrastructure for storage of tagged training data
Students' representative for Ecology and Sustainability
The Student’s Council (StuRa) is the students’ representation at Heidelberg University. The representatives are elected by the student body to represent their interests in certain areas of expertise.
Key Responsibilities:
- Preparation of resolutions for the Students’ Union
- Representation of the Students’ Union towards the university rectorate and administration
- Coordination and support of student initiatives
Key Achievements:
- Led the negotiations about climate action with the university rectorate and administration
- Successfully lobbied for the hiring of a dedicated climate manager at Heidelberg University
- Collaborated with the Working Group Climate and Environment of the state Baden-Württemberg’s students’ representation to affect state legislation
Lead Negotiator and Coordinator
Students For Future Heidelberg is a student-led organization dedicated to climate action and sustainability at Heidelberg’s higher education institutions.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordination of the organization’s policy activities
- Relationship management with the university rectorate and administration
- Project management of the Public Climate School, a week-long event which aimed to raise awareness about climate change and sustainability
Key Achievements:
- Coordinated the formulation of a 50-point demands catalogue with regards to sustainability
- Organized and conducted a students’ assembly with over 500 participants
- Established the Working Group Sustainability at Heidelberg University
Eastern Europe Editor
The York Politics Review is a student-led political science journal at the University of York.
Key Responsibilities:
- Writing articles on Eastern European politics and security
- Editing articles on Eastern European politics and security
Key Achievements:
- Published 2 articles on Russian foreign policy: