Kurt Schaffner - Curriculum vitae#

• 1950 - 1957 Department IV of Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich (ETH)
• 1954 dipl. Ing.-Chemiker ETH
• 1957 Dr. sc. techn., Thesis 'Über squalenoide Triterpene - Onocerin und Hydroxyhopanon' submitted to the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry (supervisor: Prof. Dr. O. Jeger; referee: Prof. Dr. V. Prelog)
• 1957 - 1958 Postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Dr. H. Conroy, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
• 1958 - 1971 Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH, Zürich
• 1964 - 1970 Privatdozent ETH
• 1970 - 1971 Titularprofessor ETH
• 1971 - 1976 Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Geneva
• 1976 - 1999 Scientific Member, Director, and Member of the Kollegium of the Max-Planck-Institut für Strahlenchemie, Mülheim an der Ruhr
• 1999 Emeritus Scientific Member of the Max-Planck-Institut für Strahlenchemie (MPI für Bioanorganische Chemie since 2003), Mülheim an der Ruhr

• 1957 Silver Medal of ETH
• 1965 Swiss Chemical Society Award with Werner Medal
• 1968 Ruzicka Award, ETH Zürich
• 1986 Member, Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Düsseldorf
• 1989 Member, Academia Europaea
• 1990 Havinga Medal, Leiden
• 1991 Doctor honoris causa, Institut Químic de Sarrià, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona
• 1993 Member, Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Halle
• 1994 Member, New York Academy of Sciences
• 1995 M. L. Dewey and C. H. Kelly Award, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• 1997 European Society for Photobiology Award
• 2001 Theodor Förster Award, Deutsche Bunsengesellschaft und Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker

• 1966-67 Visiting Professor, University of California, Riverside
• 1967 Foreign University Exchange Lecturer, British Council
• 1970 Visiting Scientist, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
• 1970 Lecturer, American-Swiss Foundation for Scientific Exchange
• 1971 Visiting Professor, University of Lausanne
• 1975 Visiting Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder
• 1977 Pacific Coast Lecturer
• 1978 Guest Lecturer, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science
• 1979 Guest Lecturer, Academy of Sciences of the USSR
• 1980 Regents Lecturer and Visiting Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
• 1983 Guest Lecturer, South African Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
• 1985 Weissberger-Williams Lecturer, Rochester, NY
• 1985 Guest Lecturer, Israel National Council of Research and Development/German Science Foundation
• 1987-88 Visiting Professor, Catholic University of Leuven
• 1988 Visiting Professor, University of Amsterdam
• 1992 Guest Researcher, National Chemical Laboratory for Industry, Tsukuba, Ibaraki
• 1993 Farkas Lecturer, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
• 1998 Coochbehar Lecturer, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta
• 1998 W. Heinlen Hall Lecturer, Bowling Green University, Ohio
• 2001-02 Theodor Förster Memorial Lectureship, Würzburg, Leipzig and Stuttgart

• Functions, scientific societies
  • European Photochemistry Association
    • 1970-76 Standing Committee 1972-76 President
  • IUPAC Organic Chemistry Division
    • 1971-81 Commission on Photochemistry
      • 1971-76 Member 1976-81 Chairman
    • 1983-89 Coopted Member, Division Committee
    • 1992-01 Member, Ad Hoc Committee on Chemical Weapons Destructions Techniques, formerly Task Force on Scientific Aspects of the Destruction of Chemical Warfare Agents
  • German Chemical Society
    • 1976-83 Board of Photochemistry Group
  • European Society for Photobiology
    • 1985-86 Chairman, Founding Committee 1986-89 Member, Executive Committee
  • Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Düsseldorf
    • 1998-99 Vice President, Sekretar of the class for Natural, Engineering, and Economy Sciences
• Member, scientific and organization committees of meetings
  • 1970 IIIrd IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry, St. Moritz (Local Organizer)
  • 1976 VIth IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry, Aix-en-Provence (Chairman)
  • 1978 VIIth IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry, Leuven
  • 1981 EUCHEM Conference 'Intermediates in Organic Chemistry', Ajaccio
  • 1983-99 (Founder) Biennial Round-Table Discussions of the German Science Foundation on 'Spectroscopy of Biological Light Receptors', Schloss Ringberg
  • 1993 Vth ESP Congress on Photobiology, Marburg
  • 1996 12th Int. Congress on Photobiology, Vienna
  • 1999 VIIIth ESP Congress on Photobiology, Granada
  • 2001 Int. Conference 'Unconventional Photochemical Systems', Les Diablerets
  • 2004 14th Int. Congress on Photobiology, Jeju/Korea
• Member, editorial boards
  • 1977-80 Liebigs Annalen für Chemie
  • 1977-95 Reviews of Chemical Intermediates
  • 1978-96 Monatshefte der Chemie
  • 1979-82 Photobiochemistry and Photobiophysics
  • 1991-99 Egyptian Journal of Petroleum
  • 1991-99 MATCH
  • 1975-00 International Photochemistry Foundation
  • 1975-96 Chairman 1996-2000 Trustee
  • 1984-88 CNRS Board of Directors, Laboratory of Photophysics and Molecular Photochemistry, University of Bordeaux I, Talence
  • 1984-90 Board of Directors, Beilstein-Institut, Frankfurt am Main
  • 1990- Advisory Board of the 'Ladislaus-Farkas Research Centre for the Conversion of Light Energy', Hebrew University, Jerusalem
  • 1994 Chairman, Review Committee of Frontier Research Program RIKEN/Sendai
  • 1998 Review Committee, Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry

• 1962-71 Consultant with CIBA(-Geigy) AG., Basel
• 1968-76 Consultant with Lonza AG., Visp/Basel
• 1971-76 Consultant with Firmenich & Cie., Geneva
• 1976-99 Responsible for patenting and licensing worldwide of innovations (in chemical and medicinal research, optophysical instrumentation) by MPI Strahlenchemie, Mülheim an der Ruhr
• 1994-98 Advisory Board of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Spektrochemie und Angewandten Spektroskopie e.V., Dortmund
• 1999-03 Technical Advisory Board of CHEMBIOTEK Research International, Calcutta
  • 1999-2002 Chairman 2002-03 Member
• 2002-03 Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board of Institute of Molecular Medicine, Kolkata
• 2003-07 ChemGen Pharma International, Kolkata
  • 2003-06 Member, Board of Directors 2006-07 Advisor, Board of Directors

• 1964 Informal Photochemistry Meeting, Columbia University/New York - Yale University/New Haven - University of Mexico - Chem. Soc. Bern
• 1965 XIIIth Solvay Conference on the Reactivity of the Photoexcited Organic Molecule/Brussels - Chem. Soc. Geneva
• 1966 IInd International Congress on Hormonal Steroids, Symposium on Photochemistry/Milan - Stanford University/Palo Alto
• 1966-67 American Chem. Soc. Los Angeles - California Institute of Technology/Pasadena - Universities of California at Berkeley, Irwine, and Los Angeles - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
• 1967 Gordon Research Conference on Photochemistry, Tilton - IInd IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry/Enschede - British Council: Universities of Liverpool, Southampton, and Reading - Symposium on Organic Photochemistry/Salford
• 1968 Chem. Soc. Geneva, Basel, and Lausanne - Technical University/Braunschweig
• 1969 Chem. Soc. Paris - Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS/Gif-sur-Yvette
• 1970 Technion/Haifa - Universities of Rochester, Tel-Aviv/Ramat Aviv, Toronto, Western Ontario/London - Hebrew University/Jerusalem - Weizmann Institute of Sciences/Rehovot - Cornell University/Ithaca - New York State University at Buffalo - XIth Annual Medicinal Chemistry Symposium/Buffalo - Harvard University/Cambridge - Symposium on Quantum Chemistry/Menton - J. W. Goethe University/Frankfurt amMain - Technical University/Braun-schweig - GDCh Bonn and Freiburg i. Br.
• 1971 IUPAC Congress, Symposium on Organic Photochemistry/Boston - GECO XII/Saint-Gervais - University of Bern
• 1972 University of Clermont-Ferrand/Aubière - Chem. Soc. Fribourg - Louis Pasteur University/Strasbourg - VIIIth EUCHEM Stereochemistry Conference/Bürgenstock - IVth IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry/Baden-Baden - Symposium on Excited State Chemistry, European Photochemistry Association and The Chemical Society/Reading - Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences/Warsaw - Acricultural University/Wroclaw - Groupe de Photochimie, Ecole de Physique et Chimie/Paris
• 1973 Introductory Course in Organic Photochemistry, Institut Químic de Sarrià/Barcelona - Gordon Research Conference on Photochemistry/Tilton - Columbia University/New York - VIIth International Conference on Photochemistry/Jerusalem - GDCh Giessen, Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, and Saarbrücken
• 1974 Catholic University of Leuven, - State University/Ghent - Institut des Substances Naturelles, CNRS/Gif-sur-Yvette - Université de Bretagne Occidentale/Brest - Minerva Symposium/Schloss Elmau - Meeting of the GDCh Photochemistry Group/Konstanz
• 1975 Universities of Chicago, Colorado/Boulder, Reims, Wisconsin/Madison, and Claude-Bernard/Lyon I-Villeurbanne - Columbia University/New York - Northwestern University/Evanston - State Universities of Michigan/East Lansing and Colorado/Fort Collins - 25th IUPAC Congress/Jerusa-lem - Technion/Haifa - F. Schiller University/Jena - Technical University/Leuna-Merseburg
• 1976 Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule/Aachen
• 1977 GDCh Bochum, Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, and Berlin - The Chemical Society, RIC Centenary Celebration/London - Universities of Alberta/Edmonton, British Columbia/Vancouver, Nevada/Reno, New Orleans, Oregon/Eugene, Puerto Rico/Rio Pedras, Reading, Washing-ton/Seattle, Wuppertal - California Institute of Technology/Pasadena - University of California at Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Diego - Stanford University/Palo Alto - State Universiies of Oregon/Corvallis and Louisiana/Baton Rouge - Gordon Research Conference on Photo-chemistry/Andover
• 1978 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: Universities of Hokkaido/Sapporo, Tohoku/Sendai, Kanazawa, Tsukuba/Ibaraki, Kyushu/Fukuoka, Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo, and Institute of Molecular Sciences/Okasaki, - Japanese Photochemistry Association, Symposium on Photochemistry, Kyoto
• 1979 Academy of Sciences, USSR: Institutes of Chemical Physics/Moscow and Kinetics and Combustion/Novosibirsk - Universities of Belgrade and New York - Chem. Soc. Zürich (ETH) - 7th Meeting of the GDCh Photochemistry Group/Göttingen
• 1980 Dechema/Frankfurt - Universities of Hawaii/Honolulu, Köln, München, Nevada, Southern California/Los Angeles - Bell Laboratories/Murray Hill - University of California at Los Angeles, Riverside, Berkeley, San Francisco (Medical Centre), and San Diego/La Jolla - California Institute of Technology/Pasadena - Technical University of Darmstadt - Chem. Soc. Wien - Max-Planck-Institut für Ernährungsphysiologie, Dortmund
• 1981 GDCh Marl-Hüls - Swiss Chem. Soc. Basel - Institute of Plant Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the DDR/Halle-Saale - Universities of Chicago, Münster, and Haute Alsace/Mulhouse - American Chem. Soc. Meeting, Joint Symposium of the Organic Division and the Inter-American Photo-chemistry Society/Atlanta - Symposium on Light-Mediated Plant Development/Bischofsmais - Meeting of the Swiss Section, European Photochemistry Association/Lausanne - French Photochemistry Group/Paris
• 1982 GDCh Uerdingen and Würzburg - Swiss Chem. Soc. Fribourg - Graduate Course, Institut Químic de Sarriá/Barcelona - Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona - Universities of Düsseldorf, Geneva, Grenoble, York, and Sheffield - Imperial College/London
• 1983 Royal Soc. Chem., Annual Congress/Lancaster - GDCh Saarbrücken - Universities of Hamburg and Freiburg i. Br. - South African Council of Scientific and Industrial Research: Universities of Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Pretoria, and Witwatersrand/Johannesburg, and National Chemical Research Laboratory, CSIR/Pretoria - Frank Warren Conference, University of Natal/Pietermaritzburg - Int. Symposium on New Trends in Phototherapy/Galzignano - Meeting of the Swiss Section, European Photochemistry Association/Basel - 8th Meeting of the GDCh Photochemistry Group/Tübingen
• 1984 Universities of Barcelona, Leiden, and Marburg - Graduate Course at the Institut Químic de Sarriá/Barcelona - Annual Meeting, SON Werkgemeenschap voor Spectro- en Fotochemie/Leiden - International Congress on Photobiology/Philadelphia - NATO Advanced Study Institute 'Primary Photoprocesses in Biology and Medicine'/Bressanone - GDCh Marburg
• 1985 11th Workshop on Theoretical Chemistry of the Austrian Chem. Soc.: The Excited State/Maria-pfarr - Israel National Council for Research and Development/German Science Foundation: Hebrew University/Jerusalem, Technion/Haifa, Tel-Aviv University/Ramat Aviv, and Weizmann Institute of Sciences/Rehovot - Universities of Chicago, Rochester, Washington/Seattle, and British Columbia/Vancouver - Sendai Symposium on Organic Photochemistry - XIIth Int. Conference on Photochemistry/Tokyo - Universities of Hokkaido/Sapporo and Tsukuba/Ibaraki - National Academy of Sciences/Taiwan: National Tsing Hua University/Hsinchu and National University of Taipei - Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science/Calcutta - Indian Institute of Technology/Delhi - Beilstein-Institut/Frankfurt am Main
• 1986 Universities of Bern, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Fribourg, and Heidelberg - Royal Society of Chemistry, Trinity College/Dublin - GDCh Wuppertal - XIth IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry/Lisbon - Niederrheinische Gesellschaft für Natur- und Heilkunde/Bonn
• 1987 Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie/Göttingen - Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH/Zürich - University of Mainz - XIIIth Int. Conference on Photochemistry/Budapest - XVIIIth European Congress on Molecular Spectroscopy/Amsterdam - GDCh Workshop on Spectroscopy of Photoreceptors/Schloss Ringberg - Université Catholique de Louvain-La Neuve - Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften/Düsseldorf
• 1988 Collège de France/Paris - University of Malta/Msida - Spectroscopy Summer School/Trabzon - F. Schiller University/Jena - Techn. Hochschule/Leuna-Merseburg - Karl-Marx University/Leipzig - 5th Symposium on Optical Spectroscopy/Eisenach
• 1989 Universities of New York, Essen, and California in San Diego/La Jolla and Berkeley - Northwestern University/Evanston - Aspenyl Meeting on Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry/Snowmass - GDCh Aachen and Kiel - Workshop on Supramolecular Organic Chemistry and Photochemistry/Saarbrücken - DFG Workshop on Spectroscopy of Photo-receptors/Schloss Ringberg - GDCh Photochemistry Group/Duisburg - Catholic University of Leuven
• 1990 17th IUPAC Int. Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products/New Delhi - Havinga Lectureship: Universities of Wageningen, Utrecht, Amsterdam and Leiden - XIX Latin-American Congress on Chemistry/Buenos Aires - Universities of La Plata, Rio Cuarto/Rosario, and Buenos Aires - Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas 'Fundación Campomar'/Buenos Aires
• 1991 Int. Symposium and Workshop on Molecular Mechanisms of Electron Transfer, Basis of Solar Energy Storage/Cairo - Universities of Tel-Aviv/Ramat Aviv and Hokkaido/Sapporo - Technion/Haifa - Ibaraki Int. Symposium on Recent Trends in Organic Photochemistry and its Extensive Prospect to Industry, University of Tsukuba/Ibaraki - GDCh Bielefeld and Freiburg i. Br. - 4th European Congress of Photobiology/Amsterdam - Symposium on 'Organic Photochemistry and its Synthetic Applications'/Reading - Institut Químic de Sarrià/Barcelona
• 1992 National Chemical Laboratory/Tsukuba - Universities of Geneva, Kyoto and Tsukuba - National Universities Taiwan/Taipei, Tsing Hua/Hsinchu and Sun-Yat-Sen/Kaoshiung - 11th Int. Congress of Photobiology/Kyoto
• 1993 Aspenyl Meeting on Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry/Snowmass - Louisiana State Universi-ty/Baton Rouge - State University of Arizona/Tucson - University of Hokkaido/Sapporo - The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, RIKEN/Wako - Hitachi Advanced Research Laboratory/Hatoyama - Symposium on 'Recent Aspects in Organic Chemistry'/Kyoto - 3rd Arnold Rikli Symposium on 'Biologic Effects of Light'/Basel - Gordon Research Conference on Organic Photochemistry/Newport - 8th European Symposium on Organic Chemistry/Barcelona - GDCh Düsseldorf and Annual Assembly/Hamburg - Weizmann Institute of Sciences/Rehovot - SBE, Centre d'Etude de Saclay/Gif-sur-Yvette
• 1994 Nordrheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften/Düsseldorf - Chem. Soc. Zürich (University) - University of Leipzig - European Research Conference: Modelling Photochemical Reactivity, San Feliu de Guixols/Barcelona - Int. Minisymposium Photochemistry/Saarbrücken - Farkas Center, Hebrew University/Jerusalem - Hitachi Advanced Research Laboratory/Hatoyama
• 1995 GDCh Erlangen - Catholic University of Leuven - Bowling Green State University - Universities of Nebraska/Lincoln and Texas/Austin - Emory University, and Georgia Institute of Techno-logy/Atlanta
• 1996 Leopoldina/Halle-Saale - Eigen Winter Seminar on Molecular Biology and Biophysical Chemistry of the Cell/Klosters - Universities of Bochum, Karlsruhe and California at San Diego/La Jolla -Ritsumeikan University/Kyoto - Kyoto Institute of Technology - 20th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Photochemistry Association/Nagoya
• 1997 Abbé Lecture, University of Jena - GDCh Leipzig - Catholic University/Leuven - 7th ESP Congress on. Photobiology/Stresa - DFG Workshop on Spectroscopy of Photoreceptors/Schloss Ringberg
• 1998 Workshop on Recent Trends in Photochemical Sciences, Regional Research Laboratory/Trivandrum - Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science/Calcutta - Indian Institute of Technology/Kharagpur - Vrije Universiteit te Amsterdam - Bowling Green State University - Symposium on Photodynamic Therapy, Biocenter, J. W. Goethe University/Frankfurt am Main
• 1999 5th Int. Conf. on Solar Energy Storage and Applied Photochemistry/Cairo - Honory Promotion H. Bouas-Laurent, University of Saarbrücken - Gordon Research Conference on Organic Photo-chemistry/New London - 36th Annual Convention and Platinum Jubilee Celebration, Indian Chemical Society/Calcutta
• 2000 XVIIIth IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry/Dresden - IInd Int. Conf. on Basic Sciences and Advanced Technology/Assiut
• 2001 XXth Int. Conf. on Photochemistry/Moscow - Int. Conf. on Unconventional Photochemical Systems/Les Diablerets - Th. Förster Memorial Lecture, GDCh Annual Assembly/Würzburg - National Universities Taiwan/Taipei and Tsing Hua/HsingchuTaiwan - IVth COE (SANKEN) Int. Symposium/Osaka
• 2002 Th. Förster Memorial Lectures, Universities of Leipzig and Stuttgart
• 2003 10th ESP Congress on Photobiology/Vienna
• 2005 Symposium David I. Schuster, New York University