Frank Kirchner studied computer science and neurobiology at the University Bonn, where he received his PhD degree in computer science. He was senior scientist at the Gesellschaft für Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung (GMD) in Sankt Augustin, Germany, and a Senior Scientist at the Department for Electrical Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, USA. Dr. Kirchner was first appointed adjunct and then tenure track assistant professor at the Northeastern University, and then as a full professor at the University of Bremen. Since December 2005, Dr. Kirchner has also been director of the Robotics Innovation Centre (RIC) in Bremen.