I was born in Vienna, Austria, on 06/11/1979 and entered a private Catholic School in Vienna. As subjects for the A-levels I chose Mathematics, German, French (written examinations) and Geography and Economy, Latin and Religious Education (oral examinations). During my studies of Theoretical Physics at the University of Vienna I joined the Erasmus exchange programme and spent half a year in Berlin, Germany. After finishing my master project in Vienna I moved to London, UK, where I started my PhD studies at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London. The subsequent jobs following the successful completion of my PhD studies led me back to Vienna.

I am married to Dr Juan Antonio Valiente Kroon, a Reader in Applied Mathematics at Queen Mary, University of London.

My hobbies include:

Music: for many years I was member and soloist of several choirs and had the chance to participate in international concert tours, CD recordings, radio performances; I play the piano and the recorder.

Hiking: discovering mountain tops and exploring steep valleys is as essential for me as admiring the beauty of nature; I am especially persistent when collecting minerals.

Arts: I enjoy experimenting with different materials and techniques as carving, silk painting, watercolour and acryl painting, Indian ink, pottery;

Books: nothing smells as beautiful as a new book opened for the first time.

Travel: my destinations so far - Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

My first language is German, I am fluent in English, have intermediate knowledge of French and Spanish and I am trained to translate classic texts written in Latin.