Bernd J. Schroers studied mathematics and physics at the University of Bonn and obtained his PhD from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at the University of Cambridge. He worked as a research fellow at the universities of Durham, Amsterdam and Edinburgh before joining the Department of Mathematics at Heriot-Watt University in 2000. His research interests lie in mathematical physics and he has published numerous papers on topological solitons and aspects of quantum gravity. He has taught courses on differential equations both at Heriot-Watt University and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in South Africa for many years.