Dr. Ulrich Wolf, trained as physical oceanographer in Kiel and Oxford, received his PhD in 1990 at Hamburg University. His career started in 1986 at the Institute for Marine Research in Kiel working in various interdisciplinary projects including the JGOFS Core Project Office. As senior scientist he moved to the Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Rostock, in 1995. During his career he participated in roughly 30 scientific cruises. He joined PtJ in 1997 and besides managing projects in marine and polar research he acted as the FP7 National Contact Point (NCP) for shipping and maritime technology. In 2001/02 he established and supervised the PtJ-MGS branch in Berlin. As project officer, partially as coordinator, he was involved in several ERA-NETs like MARTEC, BONUS and MarinERA. From 2005 to Sept 2011 he was seconded to UNESCO as a senior advisor to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and Head of the NEAMTWS Secretariat.