About Me

Well, where to start? I think the best is with my birth. Consequently, I was born 1971 in Backnang a small city in the south west of Germany near Stuttgart. I grew up in Dauernberg which is a tiny village in the "Löwensteiner Berge". The main town of the community is called Spiegelberg and it was there I attended kindergarten and primary school. After secondary school I spent three and a half years as an apprentice electrician at Robert Bosch GmbH in Murrhardt. Thereafter I visited for one year a technical school in Schorndorf that gave me the opportunity to study at the "Fachhochschule Heilbronn". I spent five and a half years there. After graduation of a diploma in electronics I completed an MSc in "Signal Processing and Control".

During my studies I became aware of, how important it is to learn the English language and to see the world more in an open minded way. Therefore, I spent six month in Japan where I did my practical training at Toko Inc. near Tokyo. I must mention that during this time I had a lot of positive experiences and got to know a lot of friends from different cultures. The postgraduate project of my MSc study I did in Newcastle, UK, at the University of Northumbria. Again, I had a really good time far from home and got to know people from all over the world. There I made the decision to go on with studying in a foreign country to improve my English and my personality. Thus, after completing the final project for the MSc at Bosch Telecom GmbH in Backnang, where I also did my diploma project one year before, I moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, to join an EngD (Doctor of Engineering) programme at the Institute for System Level Integration which is a joint venture of the University of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt. In 2004 I successfully completed the EngD and moved back to my home community in Germany. Since March 2005 I am working for Bosch Engineering GmbH in Abstatt.

Between the first and second year of study, I had to interrupt due to the military service. However, instead of wasting time for doing stupid things only because a superior orders this, I decided to do a social service instead. For this reason, I worked for 15 month in a home for deaf and mentally handicapped people, the "Paulinenpflege" in Winnenden.

Ok, I think I wrote enough about my professional life. What about my hobbies? Well, I enjoy very much to ride and maintain my motorbike. It's a Honda XR600R. Now, maybe you understand my web address including "XRThommy". The pictures above and beside show me in the Italian Alps, where we spent a few days at least once per year. The first tour in spring is always to Lake Garda in the north of Italy with sometimes more than 50 motor bikes. Often a few of them, including me, extend the trip and travel further south and west around the Cote d'Azur and Sea Alps in South France. In my summer holidays during the last few years I have been in Norway, in the desert in Tunisia, in the Pyrenees in France, Spain and Andorra, in Croatia, in the Czech Republic and of course all the countries of the Alps. I love to ride off road along the small paths through the mountains. Generally, I like the mountains. This is one reason why I'm here in Scotland now. The Highlands and their lochs are really marvellous. Besides riding with the motorbike through it I enjoy hill walking, mountain biking and in winter snow boarding. In order to support all my outdoor activities I own a small cosy camper, a VW T3.

Further to the activities above I was a member of the local football club and the fire brigade in my home community. Also, I like to surf around in the Internet. But don't be afraid, I'm not always active. I also like doing nothing and hang around and watch TV. Especially, after a great party the night before to cure of my hangover.

Ok, I think this is more than enough and gives you a small overview about me.

 Last updated by webmaster on November 20, 2005.