Dr. Thumm is a University Distinguished Professor of Physics at Kansas State University. He earned his Ph.D. from University of Freiburg. His research focuses on numerical modeling interactions of intense pulses of laser light and of particle beams with atoms, small molecules, clusters, nanoparticles, surfaces and thin films. Dr. Thumm has three patents and has written and co-authored more than 110 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He was recognized in 2014 with the Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award and in 2015 with the Senior Research Award from the Alexander-Von-Humboldt Foundation.