2026 — present
Quantitative Vegetation Dynamics MSc
ETH Zurich, D‑USYS · University Lecturer (33%) · Autumn semester
Lecturing on the theory and practice of dynamic vegetation modelling, from gap models to individual-tree simulators.
Teaching
Courses, lab sessions and the students I have had the pleasure of supervising — mostly where forest ecology meets code.
I enjoy teaching most when it involves model development, coding and simulations: the moment a student stops fighting the software and starts asking why the forest in their output behaves the way it does is the best part of the job.
Courses
2021 — 2024
Quantitative Vegetation Dynamics MSc
ETH Zurich, D‑USYS · Teaching assistant · Autumn semester
Helping students set up and interpret their own simulations with the forest gap model ForClim.
2023 — 2024
Ökologie und Management von Gebirgswäldern MSc
ETH Zurich, D‑USYS · Teaching assistant · Summer semester
Also listed as Forest Mountain Ecology and Management. Supporting research assistants with ForClim simulations.
Theses supervised
2024
Raphael Schmid BSc
BSc Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich · Co-supervisor
Waldsukzession nach einem Waldbrand in den Schweizer Zentralalpen. Main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Harald Bugmann.
2021
Alessandro Aquino MSc
MSc Forest Sciences, University of Naples Federico II · Co-supervisor
Caratterizzazione dei suoli al limite del bosco: proprietà emergenti nelle treeline di Fagus sylvatica dell'Appennino Centro-Meridionale. Main supervisor: Prof. Fabio Terribile.
Theses supported
Students whose modelling work I helped set up, debug and interpret.
2024 — 2025
Livia Gysel MSc
MSc Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich
Veränderungen der Struktur und Dynamik von Naturwaldreservaten unter Klimawandeleffekten. Main supervisor: Dr. Mathieu Levesque; with Prof. Dr. Harald Bugmann and Dr. Ulrike Hiltner.
2023
Francesca Eccher MSc
MSc Environmental Management of Mountain Areas, Free University of Bolzano
Forest stand modelling in drought-prone forests of South Tyrol. Main supervisor: Dr. Marco Mina, Eurac Research.
2023
Lara Wüthrich BSc
BSc Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich
Modelling support. Main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Harald Bugmann.
2022 — 2023
Laurin Hillebrand MSc
MSc, University of Innsbruck
Assessing the protective function of South Tyrolean forests under future climate change. Main supervisor: Dr. Marco Mina, Eurac Research.
2022
Samuel Zweifel BSc
BSc Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich
Analyses of tree regeneration after windthrow in a central Swiss forest: testing a forest succession model's abilities. Main supervisor: Dr. Ulrike Hiltner; co-supervisor: Dr. Mathieu Levesque.
Prospective students. If you are interested in a thesis on forest modelling, drought and tree mortality, or the climate sensitivity of the Swiss National Forest Inventory models, feel free to get in touch.
