"My research group uses the methods of X-ray scattering and X-ray spectroscopy to investigate biological, chemical as well as material and earth science questions. In doing so, we explore the structural properties of matter at atomic and molecular length scales. Sample systems include proteins in aqueous solution, model systems for cell membranes, water, self-associating fluids, functional surfaces, ferrous minerals, and silicate glasses as analogs for magma. We are particularly interested in the structure of these materials under extreme conditions, such as high and low temperatures, large pressures, and the variation of the chemical environment. We therefore conduct in situ studies in which, for example, we generate pressures and temperatures in the laboratory as they occur in the deep sea or inside the Earth's mantle. These experiments are performed in the X-ray laboratory, at the local synchrotron radiation source DELTA, at the European Synchrotron Radiation Centers, and at the European Free Electron Laser Eu-XFEL. The group is active in the further development of experimental methods in X-ray physics and operates two experimental stations at the synchrotron radiation source DELTA for X-ray scattering experiments focusing on biological and material science topics."