When did you feel mathematics was something you were really interested in?
- When I was already in graduate school working on my masters in mathematics degree.

How old were you at that time?
- I was 26

Did you ever consider other career paths?
- Yes, I did consider computer science before mathematics and was even accepted in computer science but I decided not to start there.

Why do you find mathematics so interesting and fascinating?
- I was able to see (while studying mathematics) how powerful mathematics can be! Also, the fact that mathematics is everywhere!

Have you run into setbacks during your career? Is there specific situations when your work has been difficult and full of setbacks? What have you done to move on and what have you learned?
- Mathematics and science in general is mostly setbacks. You are like a detective trying to uncover a hidden truth or secret and you are usually stuck on dead-ends. You learn to adjust to this fact and never give up but instead keep trying because when you finally hit the correct solution there is no better feeling in the world. The feeling of having discovered something nobody else realized before!

Have you ever during your career felt that you are not as smart, bright and clever as everyone else?
- This is something that is very hard to openly admit but it is true! Believe it or not that is a common feeling among scientists in general...

What is your greatest career moment so far?
- When I was awarded a significant amount of money to carry out my proposed research for the National Science Foundation in the USA.

What would be the ultimate math-thing to do/solve?
- This a hard question because there is no single math-thing to do but instead several of them. So many unsolved problems which are of unfathomable importance to us but we have no answer for those. But just to give one such example it would be amazingly fantastic to completely describe the motion of interacting particles (instead of approximating some of their properties as we can do today).

Did you have a role model within mathematics or science when you were young? Why did you chose this person?
- No, I did not have anyone within mathematics as a role model. My older brother however is a genious and that was my role model.

Do you have a role model today? Who? Why this person?
- Yes, that is a colleague of mine in mathematics. He is an amazingly talented (solutions just seem to easily materialize for him) mathematician but still so normal as a person. This is a bit unusual since in my experience most good mathematics I have met seem to be somewhat reclusive.

How would you describe the core of Mathematics?
- The core of mathematics, for me at least, is logic and persistence. Somehow just knowledge is not sufficient to get further and deep enough. You need knowledge but hard work and logic can really get you further.

Which is your favorite book in Mathematics?
- That is easy... A book by Newman and Bakerma on Stochastic Particle Systems. It was the first book in my life which answered every question I had in mind at the time.

Which is your favorite book of all books?
- Same as above! I have read many non-mathematical books as well even novels but believe it or not that one mathematical book was like a revelation for me!

What do you do in your spare time?
- Yes, it is true... I do math... but I do that by choice! :)

What are your expectations for the Sonja Kovalevsky days?
- I have no expectations per se... perhaps make a difference for someone?!

What will you talk about in your Science slam?
- My research work and experience performing this work.

Have you participated in a Science slam before?
- No, but it will be so interesting!!!

What do you find most difficult with popular science presentations?
- As always the main difficulty is to make the results accessible to non-specialists.

What is your strength when it comes to Science slam do you think?
- That I have a very practical application of my mathematical research which everone can easily understand. Plus a good amount of experience on simplifying difficult topics... :)

Who do you think will win the Science slam?
- No idea... but it will be fun! :)