Ilse Hamann (Ph.D.) is an oceanographer holding degrees from the Universities of Hamburg (Germany) and Seattle (Washington, USA), where she was trained with a focus on physical oceanography.  She modelled mathematically the potential for using tidal energy at a location on the North German coast, studied the dynamics of the coastal upwelling regions off Northwest Africa which are rich in nutrients and fisheries resources, investigated the influence of submarine steep topography on the large-scale circulation in the Pacific Ocean, and determined quantitatively the distribution of various water masses within intermediate and deep layers of the Pacific Ocean basins.  She published the results of her work in international scientific journals.

After years of specialised research Dr. Hamann also applied interdisciplinary approaches in her work and experienced the global dimension of marine research as a scientific coordinator.

She proposed, managed and evaluated projects which were funded both by national, European and U.S. funding agencies.

She presently holds honorary posts on the Boards of the German Society for Marine Research (DGM) and the European Federation of Marine Science and Technology Societies (EFMS) and investigates opportunities of Marine Science education and job prospects in Europe.

Work appointments of several years duration brought Dr. Hamann to Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla (California), the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the National Marine Fisheries Laboratory in Honolulu (Hawaii), and the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (Wormley, Surrey, UK).  In those locations Dr. Hamann got acquainted not only with her professional colleagues but also with people of the general public and society at large, which continues to be a network of valuable international contacts.