[1] He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland,[5] to German-Jewish émigrés, the son of the pioneering biochemist[6] Hans Walter Kosterlitz and Hannah Gresshöner.

He was educated independently at Robert Gordon's College before transferring to the Edinburgh Academy to prepare for his university entrance examinations.

a visiting research fellow at Aalto University in Finland[citation needed] and since 2016 a distinguished professor at Korea Institute for Advanced Study.

Kosterlitz does research in condensed matter theory, one- and two-dimensional physics; in phase transitions: random systems, electron localization, and spin glasses; and in critical dynamics: melting and freezing.

[11] Kosterlitz was a pioneer in Alpine climbing in the 1960s, known for working routes in the UK, Italian Alps, and Yosemite.