Volker Thiel received a Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry from the University of Hamburg (Germany) in 1997. For many years he has been doing geobiological research, with a focus on using organic molecules to explore (palaeo-)environments and biogeochemical processes. He is also continuously interested in the formation and turnover of methane, and in proxies to reconstruct these processes in modern and ancient settings. Since 2002, he is working in the Geobiology Group as a professor of Organic Geochemistry.