Bernd-Olaf Küppers has long focussed his attention on basic questions of natural science and the philosophy of science at the borders of physics, chemistry, and biology. His scientific interests cover a wide range of problems that are centred on the fundamental question of the origin and evolution of life. A graduate of Göttingen, where he studied physics and theoretical astrophysics with Rudolf Kippenhahn, he went on to study with nobel laureate Manfred Eigen and received a Ph.D. in biophysics. From 1971-1993 he worked at the Max Planck Insitute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen. In 1993 he was a lecturer in philosophy at the university of Heidelberg and held a distinguished visiting professorship awarded by the Japanese government. From 1994-2009 he has been Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Jena. His distinctions include membership of the German National Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea (London).