Louis Reichardt

Louis Reichardt (2005)

Louis French Reichardt (born June 4, 1942 ) is an American cell biologist and mountaineer .

Academic career

Reichardt studied biology at Harvard University until 1964 and then biochemistry at Stanford University until 1972 , where he received his Ph.D. acquired. He then worked as a scientist in Geneva and at Harvard Medical School . In 1975 he was appointed associate professor and in 1985 professor of physiology, biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco .

Reichardt is primarily concerned with the molecular mechanisms that play a role in the survival of neurons , the growth of axons and the formation of synapses . He is the author or co-author of more than 130 publications. In 2005 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Career as a mountaineer

In addition to his scientific career, Reichardt was an avid mountain climber .

On September 6, 1978, he and Jim Wickwire were the first US-American to reach the summit of K2 . Despite the failure of his oxygen device , he continued to climb and became the first person to climb the second highest mountain on earth without carrying oxygen. In 1981 he was a member of the American Everest Expedition, which wanted to conquer the previously unconquered east face of the mountain. However, due to adverse conditions, the expedition had to give up. Two years later, Reichardt was again a participant in the second attempt to climb the eastern flank. This time the US climbers overcame all obstacles using heavy artillery: To climb up they used step slings and a motorized winch to transport the material from camp to camp; the fixed ropes were shot up the rock with a rocket launcher. On October 8, 1983, Reichardt reached the summit with Kim Momb and Carlos Buhler , making him the first American to climb the two highest mountains on earth.

Reichardt was President of the American Alpine Club from 1995 to 1997 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Roberto Mantovani, Kurt Diemberger: K2 - Himalaya. The big challenge. Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 2004, p. 75ff.

Web links

• Louis Reichardt at UCSF