Helmut Kinzel

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Helmut Kinzel (born June 27, 1925 in Weidling near Klosterneuburg , † April 18, 2002 in Vienna ) was an Austrian ecological and plant physiologist .

Life

Helmut Kinzel was the son of Max Kinzel (accountant) and his wife Emma (* Sturm ). Between 1931 and 1935 he attended elementary school in Weidling. He then attended secondary school in Klosterneuburg until 1943 (federal high school until 1938; then “secondary school, natural science branch” ) and passed his school leaving examination there. From April 1, 1943 to June 30, 1943, he had to do the Reich Labor Service . Then he was drafted into the German armed forces. He served as a gunner in the artillery until May 15, 1945 and performed several missions in Hungary and Italy . In the last few days before the end of the war he was taken prisoner by the Americans , but was released a few weeks later .

In the winter semester of 1945 he began studying botany and chemistry at the University of Vienna . In 1951, Kinzel was promoted to Dr. phil. received his doctorate and began working as an assistant at the Plant Physiological Institute of the University of Vienna, where he worked until his retirement in 1993. His habilitation process (habilitation thesis: “On the causal analysis of the staining and fluorochroming of the cell membrane”) was completed in June 1957. He was granted a license to teach at the University of Vienna for the subjects of "anatomy and physiology of plants including biochemical problems". In 1965 he was appointed associate professor, and in 1973 full professor for chemical physiology of plants.

Act

Kinzel's scientific interest was in the metabolic physiology of higher plants in an overall ecological and taxonomic context, in particular the adaptation mechanisms of plants to extreme soil conditions, e.g. B. lime, salty or heavy metal soils. The quantitative analysis of osmotically effective cell constituents, especially minerals, sugars and organic acids, formed the methodological basis of this work. In later years he also included soil ecological issues in his research. From the 1970s onwards, Kinzel also spoke out on issues relating to environmental protection and worked in a number of commissions of the Ministry of the Environment in exposed positions. His didactic talent made him a sought-after guest lecturer at several European universities.

Fonts (selection)

  • Plant ecology and mineral metabolism. , Eugen Ulmer Verlag , Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-8001-3427-6 .
  • Metabolism of the cell. The central processes of metabolism with their physico-chemical bases. , Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8001-2574-9 .
  • On the Search: A Christian's Thoughts on Issues at the End of the 20th Century. , Evangelical Press Association in Austria, 2001, ISBN 978-3-85073-116-4 .

literature

  • Albert, Roland: Helmut Kinzel, 1925–2002 - A fulfilled life as a Christian and a plant physiologist. Writings Association for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge 142 (2008): 191–213 ( PDF ; 3.4 MB)
  • Hudler, Petra, Punz Wolfgang: The estate of Helmut Kinzel in the library of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Austria. Association for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge 142 (2008): 267–270 ( PDF ; 1.4 MB)
  • Popp, Marianne: Helmut Kinzel, ancestor of forward-looking research. Writings Association for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge 142 (2008): 215–227 ( PDF ; 0.9 MB)