Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Prof., Dr. rer pol., is the Director of the Institute of Longitudinal Studies in Education (Institut für bildungswissenschaftliche Längsschnittstudien – INBIL) at the University of Bamberg and Principal Investigator of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Since 2001 he has held the Chair of Sociology I at Bamberg University and since 2003 he has been the Director of the State Institute for Family Research at Bamberg University (Staatsinstitut für Familienforschung an der Universität Bamberg - ifb).

He was born in München, Germany (1954), and received his training in sociology, economics, social statistics and computer science at the University of Regensburg (Dipl.-Soz., 1980), the University of Mannheim (Dr. rer. pol., 1984), and the Free University of Berlin (Habilitation, 1987). He worked as Research Scientist at the University of Mannheim (1980-84) and as Senior Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education in Berlin (1984-89). He had a Chair of Sociology and Political Sciences at the European University Institute in Florence (1989-92), a Chair of Social Statistics and Sociological Research Methods at the University of Bremen (1992-98), and a Chair of Theory and Empirical Analysis of Social Structures and Economic Systems at Bielefeld University (1998-2002). In the academic year 1988-89 he was Research Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for the Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Wassenaar, the Netherlands.

He has taught and held visiting positions at Harvard and Cornell University, the Nuffield College, Oxford, and the University of Southampton, the Universities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, the Karl-Franzens University in Graz and the University of Vienna, the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, the Université de Genève, the Universities of Utrecht, Nijmegen, and Groningen, the Universities of Trento and Torino, the Université de Montréal, and the State University in St. Petersburg.

Blossfeld has declined the following job offers: In 1989, the position of a Scientific Director at ZUMA (Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen - ZUMA) in Mannheim; in 1989, a Professorship for Empirical Studies in Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Wuppertal; in 1992, a Chair in Sociology With a Special Emphasis in Social Policy Studies at the University of Leipzig; in 1996, the position of the Director of the Institute of Labor Market Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung - IAB) at the German Labor Office in Nuremberg; in 1999, a Chair in Sociology at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; in 2001, an Official Fellowship at Nuffield College, Oxford University, United Kingdom; in 2002, the Canadian Research Chair in Social Statistics at the Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; in 2002, a Chair for Sociology at the University of Vienna, Austria; in 2003, a Chair in Educational Sociology and School Research at the University of Bern, Switzerland; and in 2008, the position of the President of GESIS (the leading German Leibniz Institute for the Infrastructures in the Social Sciences) combined with a Research Professorship at the University of Mannheim or the University of Cologne.

Blossfeld is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) in Germany (Section 25: Economy and Empirical Social Sciences), the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (Social Science Class), and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (Philosophical-historical Class). He is also a member of the European Academy of Sociology, London. He is the chairman of the European Consortium of Sociological Research (ECSR) and member of the Steering Committees of the European Science Foundation (ESF) Programmes "Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences II" and "TransEurope". He serves on the scientific advisory board of the Deutsches Jugendinstitut.

Blossfeld is Editor-in-Chief of the European Sociological Review (ESR) and the Zeitschrift für Familienforschung (ZfF) (Journal of Family Research) as well as Co-Editor of International Sociology (IS) and the Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft (ZfE) (Journal for Educational Research). He is on the scientific advisory board of the Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie (KZfSS) and the Zeitschrift für Soziologie (ZfS).

Blossfeld has published 23 books and over 180 articles on social inequality, youth, family, and educational sociology, labor market research, demography, social stratification and mobility, the modern methods of quantitative social research and statistical methods for longitudinal data analysis. He has directed several large-scale international comparative projects on demography, family, work and education, among them the Globalife project. Currently, he is interested in the flexibilization of work in modern societies, the division of domestic work in the family, partner choice via the internet, and the development of individual competences and educational careers over the life course (BiKS project, NEPS project).

Wie verändert sich die häusliche Arbeitsteilung im Eheverlauf. Eine Längsschnittstudie der ersten 14 Ehejahre in Westdeutschland (together with Florian Schulz), Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 58 (2006), 23-49.

Career patterns over the life course: gender, class, and linked lives (together with Sonja Drobnic), Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 21 (2004), 141-166.

Arbeitsmarktprozesse zwischen öffentlichem und privatwirtschaftlichem Sektor - Kohortenspezifische Auswirkungen der Expansion des Staates als Arbeitgeber (together with Rolf Becker). Mitteilungen aus derArbeitsmarkt - und Berufsforschung, 22 (1989), 233-247.

Die Verbesserung der Bildungs- und Berufschancen von Frauen und ihr Einfluß auf den Prozeß der Familienbildung (together with Johannes Huinink). Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft, 15 (1989), 383-404.

Arbeitsmarktsegmentation in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Eine empirische Überprüfung von Segmentationstheorien aus der Perspektive des Lebensverlaufs (together with Karl Ulrich Mayer). Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 40 (1988), 245-261.

Globalisierung, wachsende Unsicherheit und der Wandel der Arbeitsmarktsituation von Berufsanfängern in modernen Gesellschaften, in: Elisabeth Schlemmer (Hg.): Ausbildungsfähigkeit im Spannungsfeld zwischen Wissenschaft, Politik und Praxis , VS- Verlag (in print).

Ereignisanalyse, in: Joachim Behnke, Thomas Gschwend, Delia Schindler and Kai Uwe Schnapp (Eds.): Methoden der Politikwissenschaft, Baden-Baden: NOMOS Verlagsgesellschaft (in print).

Globalization, uncertainty and men's employment careers: a theoretical framework (together with Melinda Mills and Fabrizio Bernardi), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Melinda Mills and Fabrizio Bernardi (Eds.): Globalization, uncertainty and men's careers, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar (in print).

Globalization, patchwork careers and the individualization of inequality? A 12-country comparison of men's mid-career job mobility (together with Melinda Mills), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Melinda Mills and Fabrizio Bernardi (Eds.): Globalization, uncertainty and men's careers, Cheltanham (UK) and Northampoton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar (in print).

Globalization, accelerating economic change and late careers. A theoretical framework (together with Sandra Buchholz and Dirk Hofäcker), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Sandra Buchholz and Dirk Hofäcker (Eds.): Globalization, uncertainty and late careers in society, London et al.: Routledge (in print), 1-23.

Late careers in a globalizing world. A comparison of changes in twelve modern societies (together with Dirk Hofäcker and Sandra Buchholz), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Sandra Buchholz and Dirk Hofäcker (Eds.): Globalization, uncertainty and late careers in society, London et al.: Routledge (in print), 353-371.

Globalization, uncertainty and women's mid-career life course: a theoretical framework (together wit Heather Hofmeister and Melinda Mills), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld and Heather Hofmeister (Eds.): Globaliziation, uncertainty and women's careers, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar, 3-31.

Women's careers in an era of uncertainty: conclusions from a 13-country international comparison (together with Heather Hofmeister), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld and Heather Hofmeister (Eds.): Globaliziation, uncertainty and women's careers, Cheltanham (UK) and Northampoton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar, 436-454.

The diffusion of cohabitation among young women in West Germany , East Germany and Italy (together with Tiziana Nazio), in: Martin Heidenreich, Hans-W. Micklitz, Andreas Oehler, Hans Rattinger and Johannes Schwarze (Eds.): Europa nach der Osterweiterung, Berlin: Kadmos, 2005, 115-141.

Becoming an adult in uncertain times: a 14-country comparison of the losers of globalization (together with Melinda Mills and Erik Klijzing), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Erik Klijzing, Melinda Mills and Karin Kurz) (Eds.): Globalization, uncertainty and youth in society, Routledge, London et al. 2005, 423-441.

Globalization, uncertainty and the early life course. A theoretical framework (together with Melinda Mills), in: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Erik Klijzing, Melinda Mills and Karin Kurz) (Eds.): Globalization, uncertainty and youth in society, Routledge, London et al. 2005, 1-24.

Summary and Conclusions (together with Karin Kurz), in: Karin Kurz and Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Eds.): Home ownership and social inequality in comparative perspective, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004, 365-378.

Social stratification, welfare regimes, and access to home ownership (together with Karin Kurz), in: Karin Kurz and Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Eds.): Home ownership and social inequality in comparative perspective, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004, 1-20.

Der Einfluss des Bildungssystems auf den Heiratsmarkt. Eine Längsschnittanalyse der Wahl des ersten Ehepartners im Lebenslauf (together with Andreas Timm) (in Russian), in: E. Lange and V. Koslovki (Eds.): Gegenwärtige Deutsche Soziologie. 1990er Jahre, St. Petersburg, 2003, 343-383.

Sozialstrukturanalyse, Rational Choice Theorie und die Rolle der Zeit (together with Rolf Müller) (in Russian), in: E. Lange and V. Koslovki (Eds.): Gegenwärtige Deutsche Soziologie. 1990er Jahre, St. Petersburg, 2003, 51-85.

Globalization, social inequality and the role of country-specific institutions. in: Pedro Conceicao, Manuel V. Heitor, and Bengt-Ake Lundvall (Eds.): Innovation, competence building and social cohesion in Europe . Towards a learning society, Cheltenham ( UK ) and Northampton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar, 2003, 303-324.
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Klassenlagen und Sozialstruktur (J. Handl/K. U. Mayer/W. Müller), in: Hans-Peter Müller and Michael Schmid (Eds.): Hauptwerke der Ungleichheitsforschung, Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 2003, 124-126.

Educational systems as marriage markets in modern societies. A conceptual framework (together with Andreas Timm), in: Blossfeld, H.-P. and A. Timm (Eds.): Who marries whom? Educational systems as marriage markets in modern societies, Dordrecht (NL): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, 1-18.

Who marries whom in West Germany (together with Andreas Timm), in: Blossfeld, H.-P. and A. Timm (Eds.): Who marries whom? Educational systems as marriage markets in modern societies, Dordrecht (NL): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, 19-35.

Who marries whom in the United States (together with Andreas Timm and Teresa Lankuttis), in: Blossfeld, H.-P. and A. Timm (Eds.): Who marries whom? Educational systems as marriage markets in modern societies, Dordrecht (NL): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, 195-211.

Assortative mating in cross-national comparison. A summary of results and conclusions, in: Blossfeld, H.-P. and A. Timm (Eds.): Who marries whom? Educational systems as marriage markets in modern societies, Dordrecht (NL): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, 331-342.

Event history analysis: applications. Forthcoming in: International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume "Logic of inquiry and research design," edited by T. D. Cook and C. Ragin, Oxford :Pergamon, 2001.

Bildung, Arbeit und soziale Ungleichheit im Globalisierungsprozess. Einige theoretische Überlegungen zu offenen Forschungsfragen, in: Thomas Kurtz (Ed.): Aspekte des Berufs in der Moderne, Opladen: Leske+Budrich, 2001, 239-263.
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A cross-national comparative approach to couples' careers (together with Sonja Drobnic), in Blossfeld, H.-P. and S. Drobnic (eds.): Careers of couples in contemporary societies, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2001, 1-15.

Theoretical perspectives on couples' careers (together with Sonja Drobnic), in: Blossfeld, H.-P. and S. Drobnic (Eds.): Careers of couples in contemporary societies, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2001, 16-50.

Event history analysis with Stata (together with Götz Rohwer und Katrin Golsch), Erlbaum, Mahwah, N.J., und London 2007.
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Globalization, uncertainty and men's careers (together with Melinda Mills and Fabrizio Bernardi), Cheltenham ( UK ) and Northampton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar (in print).

Globaliziation, uncertainty and women's careers (together with Heather Hofmeister), Cheltenham ( UK ) and Northampton (MA, USA ): Edward Elgar (in print).

Globalization, uncertainty and late careers in society (together with Sandra Buchholz and Dirk Hofäcker), London et al.: Routledge (in print).

Globalization, uncertainty and youth in society (together with Erik Klijzing, Melinda Mills und Karin Kurz), London et al.: Routledge, 2005.

Home ownership and social inequality in comparative perspective (together with Karin Kurz), Stanford (CA): Stanford University Press, 2004.

Who marries whom? Educational systems as marriage markets in modern societies. A comparison of thirteen countries (together with Andreas Timm), European Studies of Population, Dordrecht (NL): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.

Assortative partnership selection, division of work in the household, and union separation (together with Rolf Müller) in: Sharpe: Armonk (NY) 2002/2003 (Vol. : Issue 31 (2002): 3, 32 (2003): 1 and 32 (2003): 2 of International Journal of Sociology).

Globalization and changes in life courses in modern societies. In: Mannheimer Vorträge Nr. 32, Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung (MZES), Mannheim, 2005, 1-62.