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Hans was born in Rheydt, Germany, on January 13, 1956. He first became interested in dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles at the age of four. Hans received his Vordiplom (bachelor's degree) in geological sciences from Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz in 1975. The recipient of a graduate fellowship from Rotary International, Hans attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he first learned to collect Cretaceous vertebrate fossils and received a MSc degree in geology in 1977. He continued his graduate education at Harvard University, earning an MA (1978) and PhD degree (1984), both in biology. Hans's dissertation dealt with the anatomy and relationships of Tritylodontidae, a group of derived, superficially rodent-like non-mammalian cynodonts. This work was primarily based on new superbly preserved Early Jurassic fossils from northeastern Arizona. Following a stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the Redpath Museum at McGill University in Montreal where he studied the evolutionary history of Triassic marine reptiles Hans began his association with the National Museum of Natural History in 1986, first as a postdoctoral fellow and later as an NSF-supported researcher. In 1992, Hans was hired as a curator of fossil vertebrates at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and also joined the faculty of the Department of Zoology at the University of Toronto. He was appointed Professor of Zoology in 1997 and served as Vice President for Collections and Research at the Royal Ontario Museum from 1999 to 2002. In late 2002, Hans returned to the United States as Associate Director for Science and Collections at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. In January 2004, he rejoined the National Museum of Natural History, first as Associate Director for Research and Collections (2004-2009) and, more recently, as Senior Scientist and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology in the Department of Paleobiology. Hans served as president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology from 2004 to 2006 and on the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society from 1997 to 2005. He was co-editor of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and has served on a number of editorial boards. Hans co-edits the book series The Critical Moments and Perspectives in Earth History and Paleobiology, published by Columbia University Press. Hans has published well over 100 scientific publications on Mesozoic and late Paleozoic tetrapods and paleoecology. He co-authored a book on Triassic Life on Land: The Great Transition (2010), and edited or co-edited several volumes: Terrestrial Ecosystems through Time (1992), In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods (1994), Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates (2000), and Major Transitions in Vertebrate Evolution (2007). Hans is also actively engaged in communicating paleontological and related scientific research to public audiences. His most recent effort is a blog on paleontological topics for National Geographic Research News. Hans is Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and recently received an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award. He lives in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife Liz and their daughter Sarah.