Uwe Meierhenrich
Encyclopedia
Uwe Meierhenrich is a German Physico-Chemist. He is professor for Analytical
and Physical Chemistry
and teaches at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
in France
.
at the Philipps-University Marburg and obtained a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry
at the University of Bremen
by Thiemann. Meierhenrich became Post-doc at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
in Katlenburg-Lindau and at the French Synchrotron
Center LURE. In 2003 Meierhenrich obtained the habilitation with the academic publication The Origin of Biomolecular Asymmetry at the University of Bremen
. In 2005 he became professor at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
in France
. In order to honour his work on chirality
the Horst-Pracejus-Prize of the GDCh was given to Meierhenrich in 2011.
. In preparation of the cometary Rosetta-Mission
of ESA the so-called interstellar ice
was simulated in the laboratory, in which 16 amino acids were identified. Further experiments at the French Soleil (synchrotron)
let assume that life
's homochirality
also originated under interstellar conditions.
Analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...
and Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
and teaches at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
The University of Nice Sophia Antipolis is a university located in Nice, France and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and is organized in 8 faculties, 2 autonomous institutes and an engineering school....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Academic Life
Meierhenrich arose in a family of teachers and professors. He studied chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
at the Philipps-University Marburg and obtained a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
at the University of Bremen
University of Bremen
The University of Bremen is a university of approximately 23,500 people from 126 countries that are studying, teaching, researching, and working in Bremen, Germany...
by Thiemann. Meierhenrich became Post-doc at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research is a research institute in Astronomy/Astrophysics, located in Lindau , Germany; 20 km north east of Göttingen. The exploration of our solar system is the central theme for the scientific research done at this Institute...
in Katlenburg-Lindau and at the French Synchrotron
Synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
Center LURE. In 2003 Meierhenrich obtained the habilitation with the academic publication The Origin of Biomolecular Asymmetry at the University of Bremen
University of Bremen
The University of Bremen is a university of approximately 23,500 people from 126 countries that are studying, teaching, researching, and working in Bremen, Germany...
. In 2005 he became professor at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
The University of Nice Sophia Antipolis is a university located in Nice, France and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and is organized in 8 faculties, 2 autonomous institutes and an engineering school....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In order to honour his work on chirality
Chirality (chemistry)
A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that lacks an internal plane of symmetry and thus has a non-superimposable mirror image. The feature that is most often the cause of chirality in molecules is the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom....
the Horst-Pracejus-Prize of the GDCh was given to Meierhenrich in 2011.
Academic Achievements
Meierhenrichs name is connected with the identification of amino acids in spaceSpace
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
. In preparation of the cometary Rosetta-Mission
Rosetta (spacecraft)
Rosetta is a robotic spacecraft of the European Space Agency on a mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta consists of two main elements: the Rosetta space probe and the Philae lander. The spacecraft was launched on 2 March 2004 on an Ariane 5 rocket and will reach the comet by...
of ESA the so-called interstellar ice
Interstellar ice
Interstellar ice consists of grains of volatiles in the ice phase that form in the interstellar medium. Ice and dust grains form the primary material out of which the Solar System was formed. Grains of ice are found in molecular clouds, where new stars are formed. These ices are dominated by water,...
was simulated in the laboratory, in which 16 amino acids were identified. Further experiments at the French Soleil (synchrotron)
Soleil (synchrotron)
SOLEIL is a synchrotron facility near Paris, France. It performed its first acceleration of electrons on May 14, 2006. The name SOLEIL is a backronym for Source optimisée de lumière d’énergie intermédiaire du LURE , LURE meaning Laboratoire pour l'utilisation du rayonnement électromagnétique.The...
let assume that life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
's homochirality
Homochirality
Homochirality is a term used to refer to a group of molecules that possess the same sense of chirality. Molecules involved are not necessarily the same compound, but similar groups are arranged in the same way around a central atom. In biology homochirality is found in the chemical building blocks...
also originated under interstellar conditions.
Publications
- Munoz Caro, Meierhenrich et al.: Amino acids from ultraviolet irradiation of interstellar ice analogues, Nature 416, S. 403 - 406, 2002.
- Meierhenrich et al.: Identification of diamino acids in the Murchison meteorite, PNAS, 101, S. 9182 - 9186, 2004.
- Meierhenrich et al.: Asymmetric vacuum UV photolysis of the amino acid leucine in the solid state, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 44, S. 5630 - 5634, 2005.
- Meierhenrich: Amino acids and the asymmetry of life, Springer-Verlag, 2008. ISBN 978-3-540-76885-2
External links
- Homepage of Prof. Dr. Uwe Meierhenrich at the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Nice Sophia AntipolisUniversity of Nice Sophia AntipolisThe University of Nice Sophia Antipolis is a university located in Nice, France and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and is organized in 8 faculties, 2 autonomous institutes and an engineering school....
- BBC News März 2002
- New Scientist 2002
- CNRS press release 2002