Klaus-Dieter Thoben studied mechanical engineering, focusing on product development at the TU Braunschweig, Germany. After finalizing his studies, he worked as a researcher at the University of Bremen, where he received his Doctor of Engineering degree in the field of CAD/PDM applications. In 1989, he joined BIBA as Head of the Department of Computer-Aided Design, Planning, and Manufacturing; being currently Managing Director of BIBA and head of the research division ICT Applications for Production. In 2001, he received a state doctorate (Habilitation), including a venia legendi for the domain production systems/production systematic. He was appointed a full professor at the University of Bremen, Germany, in 2002 and currently is head of the 'Institute of Integrated Product Development' at the production engineering faculty.