My current research is on phenomenology of high-energy particle physics, in particular related to hard processes at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This includes trying to resolve possible discrepancies between data and theory predictions; improve the accuracy of predictions and to show how these improved predictions might affect current and future measurements; to check the self- consistency of various levels of sophistication within theory predictions; and study what to expect from theories that go beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Most of my projects make use of the MadGraph5_aMC@NLO matrix element event generator, but certainly not exclusively. Although in practice a major part of my research is in the development of matrix-element event generators, the driving force has never been the improvement of these codes per se, but rather the use of these codes to understand current and future LHC data.