Ernst Biekert

Rudolf Ernst Biekert (born September 25, 1924 in Ebingen ; † December 15, 2013 ) was a German chemist and manager.

Biekert came from a family of teachers and wanted to study medicine in Tübingen after being a prisoner of war in France. Since there was a waiting list, he first studied chemistry and stayed with it. In 1950 he received his diploma and received his doctorate in 1952 under Adolf Butenandt (dissertation on contributions to ultraviolet radiation and the bromination of steroid ketones ), whose assistant he was at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Tübingen from 1953 . He also followed Butenandt to Munich, where he was significantly involved in rebuilding the biochemical laboratory. In 1956 he became the main department head at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich. In 1960 he completed his habilitation in organic chemistry at the University of Munich and became a private lecturer. Then he went into industry as a member of the board of directors of Knoll AG and head of research (from 1961). From 1968 to 1985 he was CEO of the pharmaceutical company Knoll AG in Ludwigshafen, which was taken over by BASF in 1975 . From 1975 to 1985 he was also head of the pharmaceutical division at BASF. In 1985 he resigned for reasons of age.

Since 1968 he was an adjunct professor of chemistry at the University of Heidelberg . From 1970 he was co-editor of Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Technical Chemistry .

In 1978/79 he was president of the Society of German Chemists , whose Carl Duisberg plaque he received, and from 1984 was its treasurer. In 1984 he received the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class . He was on many supervisory boards, including chairman of the general meeting of the VCH publishing company . He was a member of the German Science Council .

He had been married to Inge Langensteiner since 1953 and had a daughter.

Web links

• Munzinger Archive (partial view)
• Leo BW