To Prof. Dr. Karl Schügerl on his 90th birthday.

Abstract

Karl Schügerl was celebrating his 90th birthday on June 22, 2017 not only with his family, but also within his extended scientific family, consisting of more than 300 PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from all over the world, including some, which have received their habilitation under Karl Schügerl's supervision (e.g. Christian Wandrey, Erwin Flaschel and Ruth Freitag). His large scientific family honored him on this special day and is grateful and proud to dedicate this special volume of “Engineering in Life Sciences” to him. Karl Schügerl completed his Chemical Engineering studies at the Technical University of Budapest in 1952 and came to Germany in 1956 as a research engineer. He received his PhD at the University of Hannover in technical chemistry in 1959 and finished his habilitation in 1964 at the same institute. During his habilitation time, he went to the USA for post-doctoral stays at the New York University and the Princeton University. He received a job offer as Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the New York University in 1966. However, he decided to accept the tenure position as Associate Professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig and finally became full Professor at the Institute of Technical Chemistry at the University of Hannover in 1969. For 26 years – up to his retirement in 1995 – Karl Schügerl established the Institute of Technical Chemistry to one of the leading research institutes in the area of bioprocess engineering in Germany and beyond. He was one of the first researchers in Germany, as well as in Europe, to recognize that biotechnology is the fastest developing area of chemical engineering, which remains true up until now. Our Laurate was the driving force in Germany and Europe in this area. He was eager to learn more about the cultivation aspects of bacteria, yeast, fungi and mammalian cells in large-scale production. He has taken a leading role in the online measurement, control and modelling of biological processes, combining analytical techniques, as well as computer science with engineering aspects. He influenced biotechnology in different areas, such as pharma, food/feed and bio economy in more than 850 scientific publications. His tremendous impact on various areas of modern biotechnology is thus well documented. Karl Schügerl, born in the Eastern part of Europe during the “Cold War”, was the leading German scientist to bring eastern and western biotechnologists together and to form a uniform German and European biotechnology family. His large number of PhD students and research associates were able to transfer his ideas and research efforts not only to industrial application, but also towards the establishment of academic “Schügerl-schools”, mainly in Germany, but also abroad. Even to this day, his scientific grandchildren and grand grandchildren receive permanent research and leadership positions in Europe and abroad. He was able to pass his enthusiasm for new frontiers in biosciences, not only to his students and co-workers, but also to his national and international colleagues, who established a world-wide Schügerl network. He has infected everybody with his great creativity and impressive power. All the authors of this issue, as well as we as volume editors, are happy to honor Karl Schügerl with this special volume and express our best wishes to him on his 90th birthday.