Hans Neunhoeffer

Hans Neunhoeffer (born May 7, 1936 in Breslau ; † September 4, 2018 ) was a German chemist and professor for organic chemistry at the Technical University of Darmstadt (TUD). He has made a name for himself internationally in the field of heterocycle chemistry. In addition to his academic work, he devoted himself to local politics in his community of Mühltal and in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district .

Life

Hans Neunhoeffer was born as the second of five children of Otto Neunhoeffer . After attending school in Breslau and Greifswald , Hans Neunhoeffer graduated from high school in East Berlin in 1954 and began studying chemistry at the Humboldt University in East Berlin. In 1959 he became a qualified chemist with a thesis on some aliphatic methylol compounds, especially α, α-dimethylol carboxylic acids . He received his doctorate in 1962 under Professor Friedrich Cramer at the Technical University of Darmstadt with a thesis on phosphorylimidazolides - in particular nucleotididazolides .

Hans Neunhoeffer was married to Margaret Neunhoeffer, born in 1965. Kirnberger, and had two children: Ellen Deranek (* 1966), and Henrik Neunhoeffer (* 1967).

Research and Teaching

An important stage in Hans Neunhoeffer's scientific career was his postdoc fellowship with the later Nobel Prize winner Robert B. Woodward at Harvard University in Cambridge (Massachusetts) , USA. Subject: Synthesis of natural tetracyclines . After several years as a scientific assistant to Clemens Schöpf and Walter Franke , Hans Neunhoeffer completed his habilitation in 1970 at the Technical University of Darmstadt with the habilitation thesis A Contribution to the Chemistry of Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles and was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1971. In 1983/84 he was again in the USA, this time as a visiting professor ( Fulbright program ) at Portland University in Portland (Oregon) , USA. Hans Neunhoeffer's specialty remained heterocycle chemistry; in 1990 he was appointed Secretary General of the International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry and held this position with numerous international commitments until 2005. In 1991 he was visiting professor at various universities in Taiwan . Hans Neunhoeffer retired in 2001, but continued his research work at the Clemens Schöpf Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at TUD for a few years. One of his main research areas is environmentally friendly cosmetics . There was close cooperation with the Darmstadt chemical companies Wella and Merck .

Publications

• Chemistry of 1,2,3-Triazines and 1,2,4-Triazines , Tetrazines and Pentazin , Vol in: Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds: A Series of Monographs, Paul F. Wiley, New York 1978

The scientific work of Hans Neunhoeffer comprises around 250 publications, patents and lectures.

politics

For many years, Hans Neunhoeffer was a member of the Mühltal community council and the community council for the CDU, and was temporarily chairman. From 2002 to 2006 he was chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district assembly. He was particularly committed to environmental issues.

Volunteerism by Hans Neunhoeffer related in part to the pairings of the community Mühltal with Nemours , France and Vingåker , Sweden.

Awards

• 1993 and 2001 Medal of Honor from the City of Nemours, France
• 2001 Medal of Honor of the European People's Party in the European Parliament
• 2003 Bronze sports plaque from the community of Mühltal
• 2005 Fellow (Honorary Member) of the International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry
• 2007 Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

literature

• German Scholars Calendar . KG Saur, Munich 2005

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Darmstädter Echo: Mourning for Hans Neunhoeffer , September 15, 2018.
2. ↑ Margaret Neunhoeffer, local adviser in Mühltal .
3. ↑ Darmstädter Echo , September 3, 2007.