Gerald Maier

Honorary Professor Dr. Gerald Maier serves in the Conservation and Restoration of New Media and Digital Information program at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart's Conservation-Restoration Department. He has held this honorary professorship since July 2013 and has been a lecturer for digital information preservation and cultural asset digitization in the Master's program since 2007.

Dr. Maier studied history, Protestant theology, art history, and historical geography at the Universities of Tübingen and Bonn, earning his doctorate in modern history from Tübingen. He completed archival training at the General State Archives Karlsruhe and Archive School Marburg.

His research focuses on the critical intersection of digital technology and cultural heritage preservation. Professor Maier specializes in developing methodologies for conserving new media and digital information, addressing challenges in long-term digital preservation, metadata standards, and ensuring accessibility of digitized cultural materials. His work bridges traditional archival practices with emerging digital technologies, particularly in the context of institutional archive management.

From 2002 to 2019, he served as Federal Council Commissioner for 'Digitization and Online Accessibility of Cultural Material and its Digital Preservation,' demonstrating his national leadership in this field. Currently, since 2018, he holds the position of President of the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg, overseeing one of Germany's most significant archival systems.