Nils Wunsch is a Ph.D. student in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Prior to coming to Boulder, Nils received a B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Â Nils is working on a software framework for solving multi-material topology optimization problems using an immersed eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) . Â His research focuses on stabilization methods for XFEM, the use of higher order hierarchical B-spline basis functions in the XFEM, and applying the XFEM to fluid flow problems. Â Nils's principal Ph.D. advisor is Professor Kurt Maute of the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences.