Jürgen Aschoff (1913-1998) was an outstanding scientist of the 20st century. He became internationally recognised through the discovery of the internal clock in humans and is one of the founders of Chronobiology.
This book describes the most important phases of his life and his scientific achievements. His scientific institute, das Max Planck Institut für Verhaltungphysiolgie in Seewiesen, Andechs, became a centre for biological rhythms science and its open atmosphere attracted scientists and students from the entire world. Jürgen Aschoff was a talented scientist, presenter and teacher, who was several times nominated for the Nobel prize.
The history of Jürgen Aschoff and his family was depicted lively and knowledgeable, in an age marked by radical scientific and social-political revolution. The history of biological rhythms science is thoroughly described, including its basic concepts co-developed by Aschoff. Special attention has been given to German scientific history by describing the lives of students and scientists under the influential takeover of the national-socialists.
Author of this biography is the Dutch behavioural biologist Serge Daan, professor (em.) at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. An exceptionally rich legacy, intensive source investigations and interviews with numerous contemporaries, enabled this comprehensive portrait.
Serge Daan
*1940 im niederländischen Mook, studierte in Amsterdam und promovierte dort zum Thema Winterschlaf. Er verbrachte vier Jahre als Postdoc bei den Begründern der modernen Chronobiologie Jürgen Aschoff und Colin Pittendrigh. Diese Aufenthalte im Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie in Andechs (Bayern) und an der Stanford University in Kalifornien waren für seine wissenschaftliche Karriere prägend und führten zu einer lebenslangen Zusammenarbeit und Freundschaft mit den beiden Mentoren.
Von 1975 bis zu seiner Emeritierung 2009 war er als Professor an der Universität Groningen (Niko Tinbergen chair in Behavioural Biology) in Forschung und Lehre tätig, zuletzt als Dekan der Fakultät der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften.
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