Dr. Katherine Sammler is trained as a geographer, with a background in atmospheric science and physics. She is the Focus Group Lead in Marine Political Ecology at the Helmholtz-Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and University of Oldenburg in Germany. She conducts research at the intersection of science and politics in the realm of oceans, atmospheres, and outer space. In all areas, her work considers the role of knowledge, law, and power in defining global commons, access, and environmental justice. She has recently published on the politics of shifting borders due to sea level rise, and astronomy and space infrastructure in relation to settler colonial observation and occupation. She is currently developing research projects on 1) efforts to develop international regulation of marine biodiversity in the high seas and 2) the convergence of geopolitical interests on the seabed.