My field of research are open quantum systems, with focus on quantum transport and macroscopic quantum coherence. I have obtained by PhD with a work on the nonequilibrium dynamics of a two-level particle interacting with a thermal environment and subject to a strong harmonic drive. The problem of the destruction of quantum coherence due to a fluctuating environment together with the possibility of controlling the dynamics of the two-level particle by the strong drive is a very active field of research also now, in particular in the context of quantum computation and quantum information processing. After the PhD I have widened the focus of my research to the investigation of the current-voltage characteristics of complex nanosystems (a single molecule, a carbon nanotube or artificial atoms in semiconducting nanostructures) in various set-ups. Focus here has been mostly on the case in which the small conductor is weakly coupled to voltage-biased leads, in which case various phenomena ranging from Coulomb blockade to Kondo physics occur. My theoretical investigation are based on various techniques ranging from path-integral and diagrammatic approaches to ab-initio calculations.
Since 2003 I am a full professor of physics in Regensburg. I have been Dean of the Physics Faculty and vice-president for research of the University of Regensburg. Furthermore, I am the spokesperson of the Graduate College “Electronic properties of carbon based nanostructures” funded by the DFG (German Science Foundation) since 2009.
Today the focus of my research is on:

• Transport properties of low-dimensional interacting systems,
• Superconducting devices for quantum information processing.