Dr Pier Luigi Buttigieg is a senior data scientist and digital architect at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). He specialises in advancing digital interoperability and biodiversity informatics, bridging science and technology to mobilise ecological data for global sustainability efforts.

Pier Luigi plays a leading role in international ocean data initiatives, serving as the chair of the Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) Project under the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and contributing to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Biology and Ecosystems Panel. He also co-leads the Data Lakes and Interoperability Working Group in the Digital Twins of the Ocean (DITTO) decade program. Pier Luigi drives the development of ontologies like ENVO (The Environment Ontology) and SDGIO (Sustainable Development Goals Interface Ontology) to standardise and link scientific data with societal goals.

With a strong background in microbial ecology, bioinformatics, and multivariate analysis, Pier Luigi integrates semantics, bioinformatics, and data analysis to make biodiversity data more accessible and actionable. His leadership spans multiple Horizon Europe projects as well as international Actions within the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, shaping strategies to enhance data standardisation and interoperability for sustainable ocean management.