Prof. Ma’ruf Kasim, S.Pi. M.Si. Ph.D completed his doctorate in Marine Ecology at the Field Science Centre for Northern Biosphere, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Japan. Currently a Professor at the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Halu Oleo University, Ma’ruf is active in several international professional organizations in the marine and fisheries sector and has experience in several international funding agencies for marine conservation. With a special interest in eucheumatoid seaweed cultivation and ecology, Ma’ruf has received more than 16 National and International awards including Indonesia’s top 10 best innovators in 2016 and Leadership Innovation Fellow (LIF6) in 2020. A team leader of 28 competitive national research projects (RISTEK DIKTI) since 2010, Ma’ruf has been a guest lecturer (invited Professor) at Kyoto University (2010) and Hokkaido University (2013 and 2015). He has presented his research at over 100 national and international symposiums and published more than 60 articles, 14 in SCOPUS and WoS indexed journals as well as books and book chapters related to seaweed cultivation. Ma’ruf has 2 granted patents and 10 registered patents related to seaweed cultivation technology.