Wolfgang Jaeger received his Diploma and his Doctor degree (Dr rer nat, 1976) in Physics from the University of Stuttgart based on his research work at the Max-Planck-Institute for Metal Research, Stuttgart, Germany under the guidance of Professor Alfred Seeger. He joined the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory USA (1977-1979) as a post-doc scientist. From 1979 to 1996 he took positions of a staff scientist and of a group leader of a microstructure research group at the Institute for Solid State Research at the Research Centre Juelich, Germany. In 1996, he was appointed Professor and Head of the Microanalysis of Materials Group at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel / Kiel University, Germany. He contributed to establishing the infrastructure and the study course system in Materials Science and initiated and coordinated several interdisciplinary activities at the Kiel University.

In 2013, he retired from his university teaching duties and since continues with research and further professional activities, such as co-organizing scientific conferences and workshops on advanced transmission electron microscopy and its applications to current topics in materials and life science. Currently, he enjoys being guest scientist at the Ernst Ruska - Center of the Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany, and at the Department of Physics of the Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg Sweden.

His research interest focuses on transmission electron microscopy and microstructure research in materials science of functional thin films, nanomaterials and materials for energy. He published more than 300 scientific publications, including book chapters and review articles, and has given numerous invited and plenary presentations at international conferences, in advanced scientific schools, and in institutes.