Manfred Eigen (German pronunciation:[ˈmanˌfʁeːtˈaɪ̯ɡn̩]ⓘ; 9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019) was a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry[1] for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.[4]
Official listing at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Eigen's research helped solve major problems in physical chemistry and aided in the understanding of chemical processes that occur in living organisms.
In later years, he explored the biochemical roots of life and evolution. He worked to install a multidisciplinary program at the Max Planck Institute to study the underpinnings of life at the molecular level. His work was hailed for creating a new scientific and technological discipline: evolutionary biotechnology.[5]
Education and early lifeedit
Eigen was born on 9 May 1927 in Bochum,[6][7] the son of Hedwig (Feld) and Ernst Eigen, a chamber musician.[8] As a child he developed a deep passion for music, and studied piano.[5]
World War II interrupted his formal education. At age fifteen he was drafted into service in a German antiaircraft unit. He was captured by the Soviets toward the end of the war. He managed to escape (he said later that escape was relatively easy),[5] and walked hundreds of miles across defeated Germany, arriving in Göttingen in 1945. He lacked the necessary documentation for acceptance to university,[9] but was admitted after he demonstrated his knowledge in an exam. He entered the university's first postwar class.
Eigen desired to study physics, but since returning soldiers who were previously enrolled received priority, he enrolled in Geophysics. He earned an undergraduate degree and entered graduate study in natural sciences. One of his advisors was Werner Heisenberg, the noted proponent of the uncertainty principle.[5] He received his doctorate in 1951.
Career and researchedit
Eigen received his Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen in 1951 under supervision of Arnold Eucken.[3] In 1964 he presented the results of his research at a meeting of the Faraday Society in London. His findings demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to determine the rates of chemical reactions that occurred during time intervals as brief as a nanosecond.[citation needed]
Eigen was married to Elfriede Müller.[8] The union produced two children, a boy and a girl.[8] He later married Ruthild Winkler-Oswatitsch, a longtime scientific partner.[5]
Honours and awardsedit
Eigen won numerous awards for his research including:
^ abWeisskopf, V. F.; Eyring, H.; Eyring, E. M. (1967), "Nobel Prizes: 4 named for international award (Hans Bethe, Manfred Eigen, R.G. Norrish, George Porter)", Science, vol. 158, no. 3802 (published 10 November 1967), pp. 745–8, Bibcode:1967Sci...158..745W, doi:10.1126/science.158.3802.745, PMID 4860395
^ ab"Professor Manfred Eigen ForMemRS". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
^ abWinkler-Oswatitsch, R. (1987), "Manfred Eigen. Scientist and musician", Biophys. Chem., vol. 26, no. 2–3 (published 9 May 1987), pp. 109–15, doi:10.1016/0301-4622(87)80015-7, PMID 3300805
^ abcdeWeil, Martin (12 February 2019). "Obituaries: Manfred Eigen". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
^ ab"Manfred Eigen Festschrift: special issue dedicated to Professor Manfred Eigen on the occasion of his 60th birthday", Biophys. Chem., vol. 26, no. 2–3 (published 9 May 1987), pp. 101–390, 1987, PMID 3300802
^ abSchlögl, R. W. (1997), "To Manfred Eigen on his 70th birthday", Biophys. Chem., vol. 66, no. 2–3 (published 30 June 1997), pp. 71–3, doi:10.1016/S0301-4622(97)00075-6, PMID 17029872
^ abcd"Eigen – Biographical". NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB. 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^Czikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (2013). Creativity: The psychology of discovery and invention. Harper Perennial. p. 54.
^"List of publications by Manfred Eigen", Biophys. Chem., vol. 26, no. 2–3 (published 9 May 1987), pp. 103–8, 1987, doi:10.1016/0301-4622(87)80014-5, PMID 3300804
^"Curriculum vitae of Manfred Eigen", Biophys. Chem., vol. 26, no. 2–3 (published 9 May 1987), p. 102, 1987, doi:10.1016/0301-4622(87)80013-3, PMID 3300803
^Dainton, F.; Thrush, B. A. (1981). "Ronald George Wreyford Norrish. 9 November 1897-7 June 1978". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 27: 379–424. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1981.0016. ISSN 0080-4606. S2CID 72584163.
^Fleming, G. R.; Phillips, D. (2004). "George Porter KT OM, Lord Porter of Luddenham. 6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002: Elected F.R.S. 1960". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 50: 257–283. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2004.0017. ISSN 0080-4606.
^Eigen & Schuster (1977) The Hypercycle. A Principle of Natural Self-Organisation. Part A: Emergence of the Hypercycle. Naturwissenschaften Vol. 64, pp. 541–565.
^Eigen & Schuster (1978) The Hypercycle. A Principle of Natural Self-Organisation. Part B: The Abstract Hypercycle Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Naturwissenschaften Vol. 65, pp. 7–41.
^Eigen & Schuster (1978) The Hypercycle. A Principle of Natural Self-Organisation. Part C: The Realistic Hypercycle Archived 16 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Naturwissenschaften Vol. 65, pp. 341–369.
^Manfred Eigen and Peter SchusterThe Hypercycle: A principle of natural self-organization, 1979, Springer ISBN 0-387-09293-5
^
Jackle H; Rotte C; Gruss P (2017). "Manfred Eigen: the realization of his vision of Biophysical Chemistry". European Biophysics Journal. 47 (4): 319–323. doi:10.1007/s00249-017-1266-y. PMC5982432. PMID 29230510.
^"HKHPE 03 02". www.hanskrause.de. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
^"Manfred Eigen, 1967 Nobel Chemistry Laureate, Dies at 91". The New York Times. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^Merlot, Julia (7 February 2019). "Der Bezwinger des Unmessbaren". Der Spiegel (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^"Göttingen Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen has died". The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Göttingen. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^Lindinger, Manfred (7 February 2019). "Die Klaviatur des Lebens". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2019.
^ abc"Manfred Eigen". www.mpibpc.mpg.de. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
^"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1967 – Nobelprize.org". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
^ ab"Manfred Eigen". www.pas.va. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
^"Pour le Mérite: Manfred Eigen" (PDF). www.orden-pourlemerite.de. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqr"Vita". www.mpibpc.mpg.de. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
^"Academy of Europe: Eigen Manfred". www.ae-info.org.
^"Der Niedersächsische Staatspreis". Portal Niedersachsen. 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^Brünjes, Angela (5 December 2014). "Manfred Eigen erhielt 1967 den Nobelpreis für Chemie". Göttinger Tageblatt (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^Rotte, Carmen (7 February 2019). "Göttingen Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen has died". mpibpc.mpg.de. Munich: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
Bibliographyedit
Eigen, Manfred (2013). From strange simplicity to complex familiarity : a treatise on matter, information, life and thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-857021-9. OCLC 867631103.
Eigen, Manfred (1971). "Selforganization of matter and the evolution of biological macromolecules". Die Naturwissenschaften. 58 (10). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 465–523. Bibcode:1971NW.....58..465E. doi:10.1007/bf00623322. ISSN 0028-1042. PMID 4942363. S2CID 38296619.
Eigen, Manfred (1993). Laws of the game : how the principles of nature govern chance. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02566-5. OCLC 25787606.
Manfred Eigen tells his life story at Web of Stories (video)
Interview with Manfred Eigen by Harry Kroto, NL Freeview video provided by the Vega Science Trust.
"Falls ein Gott die Naturgesetze erschuf, so erschuf er auch das Leben durch Evolution" (in German) Interview with Manfred Eigen from 2004, Archive
Further readingedit
Obituariesedit
Slotnik, Daniel E. (14 February 2019). "Nobel winner put a clock to chemicals". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Honolulu. p. B6. Retrieved 20 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
Weil, Martin (12 February 2019). "Manfred Eigen, 91, shared '67 Nobel Prize in chemistry". The Boston Globe. Boston. p. C9. Retrieved 20 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
External linksedit
"The institute congratulates Manfred Eigen on his 90th birthday!" Archived 19 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine at mpibpc.mpg.de
Manfred Eigen – Early childhood recollections about music on YouTube
Manfred Eigen on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, 11 December 1967 Immeasurably Fast Reactions