Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger—inventor, author, former Research Director at BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, and former President of the German Chemical Society (GDCh), celebrates his 85th birthday on May 29, 2024.
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger was born in 1939 in Insterburg, East Prussia (today Chernyakhovsk, Russia). He studied chemistry with minors in physics and anthropology in Munich, Germany. After obtaining his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1967, he joined BASF, where he held several positions over the years. In 1969, he was appointed Head of the company’s research group for intermediates for the dye and the pharmaceutical sectors.
In 1985, Quadbeck-Seeger joined the Board of Executive Directors of a BASF subsidiary, Knoll AG, Ludwigshafen. The same year, he became Honorary Professor for Industrial Chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. In 1990–1997, he served as Research Director at BASF. He has also served as a Member of the Board of the company. He has authored several popular science books and holds a large number of patents.
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger was a member of the Senate of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 1991–1994, President of the GDCh in 1994–1995, and a member of the Senate of the Max Planck Society in 1996–2000. In 1998, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2007, he was named an Honorary Member of the GDCh, the society’s highest honor.
Selected Publications
- Molekülmodelle einfach selbst gebaut,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Chem. unserer Zeit 2017, 51, 210–213.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ciuz.201700793 - Die DNA-Struktur: Überraschend einfache Modelle für das wichtigste Molekül des Lebens,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Chem. unserer Zeit 2017, 51, 284–285.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ciuz.201700815 - Unendliche Weiten: Kreuz und quer durchs Chemie-Universum,
Thisbe K. Lindhorst, Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger, GDCh,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2017.
ISBN: 978-3-527-80450-4 - “Kannst Du Destille?”,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Nachr. Chem. 2013, 61, 525–527.
https://doi.org/10.1002/nadc.201390161 - Aphorismen und Zitate über Natur und Wissenschaft,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2013.
ISBN: 978-3-527-33613-5 - World of the Elements: Elements of the World,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2007.
ISBN: 978-3-527-32065-3 - Modelle für C60-Fulleren,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Chem. Unserer Zeit 2010, 44, 230–231.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ciuz.201090042 - Ein neuartiges Konzept zum Bau von Molekül-Modellen,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Chem. Unserer Zeit 2010, 44, 154–157.
DOI: 10.1002/ciuz.201090018
Also of Interest
- Cuvette XXL – Beauty of Chemistry,
ChemistryViews 2016.
Easy method for the observation and representation of chemical reactions and physical phenomena suggested by Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger - Discovery of the Elements,
Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger,
Chemistryviews 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201000006
The chronology of the discovery of the elements is a textbook example of scientific development
