Volker Bertram was born in Germany. he studied at the University of Hamburg and the University of Michigan, receiving degrees in naval architecture and marine engineering. After graduation, he obtained his PhD with a thisis on numerical simulation of ship seakeeping in 1990. Subsequent industry experience included work at three professional ship model basins, a consultant company, and most recently the classification society Germanischer lloyd, where he works as senior project manager. Dr. bertram holds also the psoition of extraordinary professor for naval architecture at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) and chief editor of the renowned scientific journal "Ship Technology Research". He has more than 250 publications, including two books.