My research focuses on urban sociology, social networks, and the origins and consequences of segregation. It seeks to better understand how social structures operate behind the backs of those involved, affecting (in-)equality and social cohesion. I have studied various aspects, including how housing patterns shape personal relationships, how the institutional structure of school systems impacts families’ school choices, and how the demographic makeup of schools and classrooms affects students’ social networks and self-images. In my current research group, “Sorting Decisions and Peer Processes in Schools (SPINS),” we investigate how decisions made by school administrators and teachers about classroom placement influence peer dynamics in German secondary schools. The group is funded by the German Research Foundation.

Theoretically, my work seeks to bridge the gap between structuralist perspectives on sorting processes and subjectivist views on their impact on everyday life. To empirically test these theories, I employ a variety of quantitative data sources (e.g., survey, administrative, and spatial data) and analytical methods (e.g., network, multilevel, and panel analyses).

Previously, I worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cologne. I hold a doctoral degree from the University of Mannheim. My past projects include co-directing the “Structural Origins of Separate School Lives (SEPLIVES)” research project and participating in the ERC-funded “Social Integration and Boundary Making in Adolescence (SOCIALBOND)” project, as well as the “Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU).”

News

May 2025 – ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence secures renewed funding: ECONtribute—a joint initiative of the Universities of Cologne and Bonn, where I serve as a cluster faculty member—has successfully secured another round of funding through the German Excellence Initiative.

April 2025 – New Department of Sociology at the University of Bonn: This month, my professorship became part of the newly formed Department of Sociology at the University of Bonn.

February 2025 – Second funding period for DFG Emmy Noether Group secured: Following a positive interim evaluation, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved an additional three years of funding for my research group SPINS.

October 2024 – New position at the University of Bonn: I am very happy to accept a position as (tenure-track) Assistant Professor of Sociology (with a focus on social inequality). The professorship is located at the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft (FIW) at the University of Bonn.

July 2024 – New article published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships: Together with Heike Krüger and Clemens Kroneberg, I examined students’ “Mode of contact and mood changes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A daily diary study during school closures and re-opened schools.”

December 2023 – New interdisciplinary article published in the Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics: Together with colleagues from the University Hospital of Cologne, Clemens Kroneberg and I examined “Fixed orthodontic appliances and adolescents’ peer relations in school.”

November 2023 – New article published in Sociological Science: Together with Viktor Decker and Thijs Bol, we examine “Life-Course Differences in Occupational Mobility Between Vocationally and Generally Trained Workers in Germany.”

June 2023 – SPINS website online: We have recently launched our new project website, https://spins-study.com (in German), for participating schools and the wider public interested in the SPINS study.

August 2022 – New position: I recently joined the University of Bonn where I have the opportunity to lead an Emmy Noether junior research group for the next six years.

June 2022 – New edited volume published: I am very pleased that our edited volume on spatial inequalities in Germany is now published (accessible online at Springer VS). Many thanks to the co-editor Janna Teltemann as well as to all contributing authors.

February 2022 – New article published in the European Sociological Review: “Who Stays Involved? A Longitudinal Study on Adolescents’ Participation in Voluntary Associations in Germany” (with Kasimir Dederichs) is now openly available at the ESR website.

December 2021 – New article published in Social Networks: “Contextualizing oppositional cultures: The variable significance of gender and ethnic minority status across schools” (with Clemens Kroneberg) is now openly available at the Social Networks website.

June 2021 – New article published in the European Sociological Review. Our new article “When Ethnicity and Gender Align: Classroom Composition, Friendship Segregation, and Collective Identities in European Schools” (with Clemens Kroneberg and Andreas Wimmer) is now openly available at the ESR website.

June 2021 – Robert K. Merton Award. I feel honored that our paper “More than a Sorting Machine: Ethnic Boundary Making in a Stratified School System” (with Clemens Kroneberg, openly available here) has been awarded the Robert K. Merton Award 2021 of the International Network of Analytical Sociology.  

April 2021 – New position. I joined the Department of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam as Assistant Professor. I am very much looking forward to what lies ahead! At the same time, I am very grateful for the wonderful time I had as a postdoc at the ISS of the University of Cologne.

November 2020 – Associated membership in ECONtribute initiative. Recently I became an associated member of the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne. I feel honored and am looking forward to the interdisciplinary exchange.

February 2020 – New article published in Urban Studies. Our article “Neighbourhood effects on acculturation attitudes among minority and majority adolescents in Germany” (with David Kretschmer) is now openly available (online first) at the Urban Studies website.

October 2019 – New article published in the American Journal of Sociology. Our article “More than a Sorting Machine: Ethnic Boundary Making in a Stratified School System” (with Clemens Kroneberg) is now available at the AJS website.

July 2019 – AS Dissertation Award. My dissertation won the “Best Dissertation Award 2019” of the Academy of Sociology (Akademie für Soziologie). I feel very honored and look forward to present my work at the Academy’s upcoming annual conference.

October 2018 – New article published in Social Forces. My article “Between-School Ability Tracking and Ethnic Segregation in Secondary Schooling” is now available in advance (open access) at the Social Forces website.

September 2018 – The SOCIALBOND project started its fieldwork. Over the course of the next months, the SOCIALBOND team will conduct thousands of interviews at schools throughout the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. For more information (in German), visit the new SOCIALBOND fieldwork website.