Martin Dominik is a Reader in Physics & Astronomy at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and Co-Director of the St Andrews Centre for Exoplanet Science. He completed his doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) at the University of Dortmund, Germany, in 1996. Since 1993, Martin's research has focused on applications of the gravitational bending of light, and in particular its potential for studying planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. Martin is a strong advocate of communication being an essential part of science, and science being an integral part of society and culture. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Global Young Academy, is member of the Advisory Board of the Vietnam Young Academy and the SETI Permanent Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics, as well as President of the Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life (NoRCEL). He is engaged in shaping research environments that make creative minds flourish, in building a sustainable and equitable global open research ecosystem, in fostering links across national borders as well as across the sciences, humanities, and arts, in building capacity in fundamental sciences, and in improving education.