Prof. Klippel was born in northern Germany, just two hours from Wageningen. He earned a master's degree in physical geography from the University of Trier, Germany, but early in his career focused on visualization (cartography) and geoinformatics. He developed a deep interest in human communication, behavior, and decision-making in spatial environments. For his Ph.D. studies, he joined a transdisciplinary graduate program and a German Science Foundation priority program on spatial cognition. Following his supervisor, Prof. Christian Freksa, he received his Ph.D. in Informatics and Mathematics from the University of Bremen, Germany.
Alexander was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the CRC for Spatial Information, Geomatics Department, at the University of Melbourne. He also spent time at the Geography Department and in the Cognitive Science Emphasis at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before joining WUR, Alexander was a professor in the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University, an affiliated professor in Information Science and Technology, and a co-hire at PSU's Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS). He led Penn State's research efforts in immersive technologies and became the inaugural Director of Penn State's Center for Immersive Experiences (CIE), a signature strategic planning initiative involving 12 colleges and ICDS.
Alexander's research interests are eclectic. His topics include, but are not limited to, XR, embodiment, virtual field trips, spatial cognition, wayfinding, geographic event conceptualization, formal characterizations of dynamic spatial processes, location-based services, landscape and land cover concepts, crowd science and crowdsourcing, as well as Virtual Reality and 3D modeling, which have featured prominently in recent projects.