Bernhard is a Senior Research Scientist at ETH Zurich and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at the University of Montréal. Until June 2017, he was a Research Scientist at Disney Research Zurich, where he was heading the group on Computational Design and Digital Fabrication. He obtained my Master's degree and PhD (Dr. rer. nat) in Computer Science from the University of Tübingen.

Bernhard's research interests lie at the intersection of computer graphics, computational mechanics, and digital manufacturing. His research revolves around the question of how to simplify difficult design problems through tailored simulation models and optimization algorithms. Example applications include mechanisms, thin shells, tensile structures and other physical surfaces, as well as mechanical metamaterials.