Prof. Dr. -Ing. Dr. h.c. Michael Schmidt teaches and does research in the field of environmental history and on land use planning under conditions of global warming. Currently he is, amongst others, manager of the project “Integrative Urban and Environmental Planning for Adaptation of Ho Chi Minh City to Global Climate Change – Adaptation Strategies for Climate-Oriented and Energy-Efficient Urban Development and Housing”, which is carried out as part of the BMBF research program Research for the Sustainable Development of the Mega-cities of Tomorrow- Energy- and Climate Efficient Structures in Urban Growth Centres. He is a distinguished and accredited expert in the field of cultural landscapes. His emphasis of research is placed on the area of gardens and landscapes that are nominated as World Cultural Heritage sites. The aim of research is the development of instruments and procedures that provide the integration of user and media over-arching environmental information, an approach that is currently unique and will also bring forward the focus areas of World Heritage research that are supervised by him. He will supervise Ph.D.-topics in the focus areas 3 and 4.