Prof. Itskov studied Automobile Engineering at the Moscow State Automobile and Road Technical University, Russia. In 1990 he received his doctoral degree in mechanics, and in 2002 he obtained his habilitation degree in mechanics from the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Since 2004 he has been full professor for continuum mechanics at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. His research interests comprise tensor analysis, non-linear continuum mechanics, in particular the application to ansiotropic materials, as well as the mechanics of elastomers and soft tissues in a broad sense.