rer. nat. degree (equivalent to PhD). The major findings of this research were published in the German journal “Flora” (Hoffmann 1962a, b). In 1961, Hoffmann was appointed as a “Senior Assistant” at the “Institut für Allgemeine Botanik”

(Institute of General Botany) of Humboldt University in Berlin. He continued to focus his scientific efforts on the topics of photosynthesis and respiration in higher plants. In 1966, Hoffmann obtained his “Habilitation” at the Humboldt University; GSK2118436 research buy this qualified him for a teaching position at a German University. The title of this work was “Physiology of Photosynthesis in Higher Plants” (Hoffmann 1968). He taught “General Botany” and “Photosynthesis” at the Humboldt University; here, he rose to the rank of a “Dozent” (lecturer) in 1967, becoming a full Professor in 1974. Hoffmann was a dedicated and a well-respected teacher. Following his motto “to demand and to promote”, he not only encouraged, but also challenged undergraduate and graduate

students in his lectures. As a leader of his growing research group, he applied the same standards to all of his co-workers. Hoffmann supervised about 80 diploma and about 20 doctoral theses—thus, establishing an influential East-German school of photosynthesis research. From 1978 to 1982, he headed the “Sektion Biologie” (Department of Biology) of the Humboldt University. In addition to publishing an impressive number (about 150) of primary research and review papers in national and international scientific as well as in popular journals, he ACP-196 in vivo wrote a comprehensive paperback textbook on photosynthesis in German (“Photosynthese”), which was published by the Akademie-Verlag Berlin, in its first edition in 1975 (Hoffmann 1975). This monograph became a selleck chemical standard book for students and young researchers in the field of photophysics, physiology, and ecology of photosynthesis in Eastern Europe. The very positive “resonance” of the book, among its readers,

led to a second (revised) edition (published in 1987). This revised edition was also translated (by Zoltan Szigeti) into Hungarian (Hoffmann 1987) and was used for many years in the university courses. Hoffmann’s broad and profound knowledge—far Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase exceeding the field of his own special research activities—enabled him to establish and promote interdisciplinary co-operation with experts of other fields of science. Of particular success was the highly innovative collaboration with laser physicists from the Central Institute of Optics and Spectroscopy of the East-German (GDR, German Democratic Republic) Academy of Sciences. The project, starting in the 1970s when lasers first became available as powerful tools for (photosynthesis) research purposes, was very productive.