Kurt Schaffner was Director of the Max Planck Institute for Radiation Chemistry in Mülheim an der Ruhr from 1976 – 1999. Under his guidance, the institute had been established as an internationally leading research institution in the field of photochemistry and its relevance to biological processes harvesting sunlight for chemical transformations. This fundamental principle of nature builds a conceptual connection to today’s scientific vision and research efforts in catalysis at the MPI for Chemical Energy Conversion.
 
A biographical sketch and personal greetings by his former colleague Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Silvia Braslavsky can be read here: Professor Dr. Kurt Schaffner celebrates his 90th birthday [.pdf]