Claus Kiefer studied physics and astronomy at the Universities of Heidelberg and Vienna. He earned his PhD from Heidelberg University in 1988 under the supervision of H.-Dieter Zeh. He has held positions at the Universities of Heidelberg, Zurich, and Freiburg, and is a professor at the University of Cologne since 2001. His main interests are quantum gravity, cosmology, black holes, and the foundations of quantum theory. He has published several books including the monograph “Quantum Gravity” (third edition: Oxford 2012). He is a member of The Foundational Questions Institute, USA, since 2006.