Jan is interested in panchromatic observations of star formation, both in our own Milky Way Galaxy and in nearby galaxies. His interests range from understanding nearby starless cores and young stellar objects (YSOs) to the initial conditions of star formation in giant molecular clouds, where the gap between Galactic and extragalactic star formation science can now finally be bridged.

Given recent sensitivity upgrades in cm- and mm-wavelength radio astronomy, Jan is currently particularly interested in exploring YSOs in the combined radio, X-ray, and infrared time domain, as well as in VLBI radio astrometry of both YSOs and nearby ultracool dwarfs. This combined view is producing new insights into key questions like the high-energy irradiation of protoplanetary disks, while VLBI radio astrometry can be used as a newly improved tool for proper motion studies and reflex motion exoplanet searches.

Originally from the state of Schleswig-Holstein in the very north of Germany, Jan obtained his PhD in Astrophysics from Bonn University in 2007, working with Karl Menten at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. Subsequently, Jan explored New England for five years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On his way back to Europe, Jan first ended up in the Austrian Empire, again for almost five years, as a Senior Postdoc at the University of Vienna, before moving to Old England in late 2016 as research fellow and proleptic Lecturer.