Acceptance of the 1999 A.N. Richards Award

Abstract

Dear Bob, I am very honored and touched by your fine presentation. I have always worshipped our collaboration in science and I have always admired your excellent work in research. In addition to that, we have had a wonderful friendship during the years. It is also a great pleasure that others of my foreign colleagues and friends during the years—Dr. Giebisch and Dr. Windhager—have come here today, with an esteemed physiologist, Dr. Seldin. I also wish to address the representatives of the International Society of Nephrology—Dr. Andreoli and Dr. Weening—and express to them my deep felt gratitude for having chosen me as an awardee. My work with the active transport of sodium through membranes searched for a common denominator for all the membranes of the body, and I was happy that some of the excellent researchers in the function of the kidney found my work useful in their field. So of course it pleases me very much to have this honor from the ISN. I look back on my work with great gratitude and it is very moving to see my Danish colleagues and collaborators here. I wish to address a special thanks to my dear colleague, Dr. Erik Hviid Larsen, for the effort he has made to make this fine ceremony. My old master, August Krogh, gave me the following advice: “The study of the behavior of water in the living organism is too difficult. Stick to ions!” And so I did for several years and this was very fruitful. But over the years, the behavior of water has nevertheless puzzled me and I have discussed it with my colleagues. During the last years, Erik and I have challenged Krogh's statement together. It has been a pleasure to work together with Erik. We have published some articles on this subject which I hope will find acceptance sooner or later. A warm thanks also to Erik's collaborators from the August Krogh Institute who have worked hard on this event. I also wish to thank the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Alfred Benzon Foundation and the University of Copenhagen for their generous contribution to this fine arrangement. And finally, thanks to all of you for coming here on this fine summer day. I will keep this as a very warm memory.