After joining BASF in Germany as a research scientist, Bernhard has had several management roles in BASF´s Material Physics department, leading R&D efforts in fields as diverse as personal care, lightweight composites, coatings, packaging, performance proteins, catalysts and battery materials. He continuously worked with internal business units and key external customers on innovations based on solid scientific understanding. 2017, Bernhard has joined BASF´s global Scouting and Incubation unit, heading the Northeast Research Alliance (NORA), a joint initiative of BASF with Harvard University, MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Based at Harvard as a visiting scientist, he steers a portfolio of strategic collaborative research projects and actively performs technology scouting in the Boston innovation ecosystem. Bernhard holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Marburg, Germany. He studied Chemistry and Physics at Tuebingen University, Germany, the University of Wales at Bangor, UK and the Max-Planck Instititute for Quantum Optics in Munich, Germany.