Hubert Markl, University of Konstanz, Germany, has passed away on January 8, aged 76. He will be remembered for his initiative and remarkable influence in science policy.

Born in 1938 in Regensburg, Germany, Hubert Markl studied biology, chemistry and geography at the University of Munich. He received his Ph.D. in zoology in Munich in 1962, and finished his habilitation in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, in 1967. He was appointed professor of zoology at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, in 1968, and moved to the University of Konstanz in 1974, where he stayed until his retirement. His research was focused on the sensory physiology and the behaviour of animals.

Markl worked not only as a zoologist, but also greatly influenced policy. He was president of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) from 1986 to 1991, and president of the Max-Planck Society from 1996 to 2002. He authored a number of books, both on biology and scientific policy.

Professor Markl was awarded numerous prizes, including the Lorenz-Oken Medal of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte, GDNÄ) in 1984, the Karl-Winnacker Prize in 1991, and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1999. He has received several honorary doctorates, amongst others from the University of Dublin, Ireland (1997), the University of Potsdam, Germany (1999), and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel (2002).

Selected Publications

• Misunderstanding and Misuse of Darwinism,
  Hubert Markl,
  Eur. Rev. 2010, 18, 329–345.
  DOI: 10.1017/S1062798710000062
• Battle for the Brains?,
  Hubert Markl,
  Science 2005, 310, 1585 .
  DOI: 10.1126/science.1122664
• Biophysics,
  W. Hoppe , W. Lohmann , H. Markl , H. Ziegler (Eds),
  Springer 1983.
  ISBN: 978-3-540-12083-4
• Neuroethology and Behavioral Physiology,
  Huber, F., Markl, H. (Eds.),
  Springer 1983.
  ISBN: 978-3-642-69273-4
• Borstenfelder an den Gelenken als Schweresinnesorgane bei Ameisen und anderen Hymenopteren (in German),
  Hubert Markl,
  Z. Vergl. Physiol. 1962, 45, 475-569.
  DOI: 10.1007/BF00342998