Institution: Kiel University

Martin Quaas is a Professor of Environmental, Resource-, and Ecological Economics in the Department of Economics at Kiel University, Germany. His work brings together economics, population biology, marine ecology and mathematics to address research questions encompassing sustainability and sustainable management of marine resources: What characterises sustainable management of marine resources? How can this be implemented through economic policy? Prof. Quaas is the speaker for Ocean Sustainability™ within the Cluster of Excellence The Future Ocean™ in Kiel.

Konrad Ott is a Professor in the Philosophy Department at Kiel University in Germany. The focus of Professor Ott™s research is in environmental ethics including aspects of sustainability, conservation and climate change. During his time as a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) between 2000 and 2008, Prof. Ott and Ralf  developed a theoretical concept of  strong sustainability.

Professor Andreas Oschlies is Head of the Biogeochemical Modelling research unit at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany. Prof. Oschlies develops and uses numerical and mechanistic ecological and biogeochemical models to understand constraints on oceanic carbon uptake and the sensitivity of this carbon sink to climate. He is currently heavily involved in assessing climate engineering proposal and is co-ordinator of two large-scale research projects:  Climate Engineering: Risk, Challenges, Opportunities and the Collaborative Research Centre 754  Climate-Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean.

Professor Mojib Latif is the Head of the Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics Research Division at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany. Prof. Latif is a well-known figure in both the scientific field and in the media from his work on anthropogenic climate change. He was a contributing author in the 3rd and 4th IPCC assessment reports and is currently Chairman of the German Climate Consortium (DKK).

Professor Nele Matz-Lück is a Co-Director of the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law, at Kiel University in Germany and Adjunct Professor at the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø¸. Her research looks into ocean governance and the regulation of activities from resource utilisation to ocean pollution as well as considering the conservation of marine biodiversity. Prof. Matz-Lück is a member of the International Law Association Committee for International Law and Sea Level Rise.

Ute Hentschel Humeida is a Professor of Marine Microbiology at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany. Prof. Hentschel Humeida aims to better understand the physiology, metabolism and molecular interactions between marine microbes and macroorganisms, in particular sponges. A combination of modern -omics technologies, in vivo experimentation, and regular field work is employed towards this goal. Her research interests also extend to drug discovery from marine bacteria (in particular, actinomycetes) with the aim to discover novel, bioactive natural products.

Mark Hannington is a Professor of Dynamics of the Ocean Floor in the research unit Magmatic and Hydrothermal Systems at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany. His research focus is on marine mineral resources and how underwater volcanoes deposit valuable minerals on the seafloor, including black smoker hydrothermal vents. Prof Hannington work has been extensively published in books and peer-reviewed scientific journals. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2012.