Biophysicist receives honorary doctorate from TU Kaiserslautern

Professor Dr. Dr. Wolfgang Junge. (Photo: Conny Borck)

Professor Dr. Dr. Wolfgang Junge is being awarded an honorary doctorate by the Department of Biology at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Junge was a Professor of Biophysics at the University of Osnabrück until 2007. He is considered one of the world's leading researchers in the field of photosynthesis. Thanks to his work, science today understands, for example, how plants release oxygen into the atmosphere and fix CO2. The honorary doctorate will be awarded to him on Friday, June 28th, during the Academic Annual Celebration (Building 42, Audimax, from 5 p.m.) on campus.

In his research, Junge has primarily focused on processes that lead to the conversion of light into chemical energy in plants. These form the basis of all life on Earth. Through his insights, science now understands in detail how plants manage to release oxygen into the atmosphere while simultaneously absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) and converting it into sugar.

Professor Junge has a very close connection to the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, having supported and accompanied the university's scientific development for over ten years as a member of the Research Advisory Board.

Junge studied physics at the Technical University of Berlin. Here, he also earned his doctorate in physical chemistry and subsequently habilitated. His research stays took him, among other places, to the USA, Lisbon, and Argentina. From 1979 to 2007, he was a Professor of Biophysics at the University of Osnabrück. This was followed by a Niedersachsen Professorship for Biophysics from 2009 to 2015.

He has also been a member of numerous professional societies, including serving as President of the International Society for Photosynthesis Research. He has been awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class, the Lower Saxony State Prize, the Röntgen Prize, and other prestigious honors. In addition to the now awarded honorary doctorate, Junge is already an honorary doctor of the Free University of Berlin.