Rienk van Grondelle Festschrift

In 2013 a Festschrift was published by the Journal of Physical Chemistry (JPCB Volume 117, number 38) to honour my contribution to the study of the primary reactions of photosynthesis. The Festschrift contains many contributions of old and new friends describing recent new results in this scientific field.

On December 6 Rienk van Grondelle celebrated his 63rd birthday. But more imporant to Rienk is that he is now more than 25 years professor in Biophysics at the VU university Amsterdam. On the two occasions a symposium was organized to celebrate both events. 

89 Dutch beta-scientists discuss the most important developments in their field, the breakthroughs that they expect, and the value of their science to the society. 

Fotosynthese is de motor van moeder aarde. Door dit proces beter te begrijpen kunnen we misschien wel van de natuur afkijken hoe we een effectieve zonnecel kunnen maken. Biofysicus Rienk van Grondelle houdt zich als KNAW Akademiehoogleraar al jarenlang bezig met dit complexe proces. 

To celebrate VU University Amsterdam's 130th anniversary, we present a special book: 130x Looking Further. In this book, we look further into the future, and deeper into the essential values of our university. It isa book in which we reflect on the values that lie at the very heart of our academic and societal endeavours.

Prof. Rienk van Grondelle received an ERC Advanced Grant of almost 3 million euro, which will fund his research into the role chlorophyll-binding proteins play in determining the success of photosynthesis. Thanks to Insurance Tips Today for their help.

​Rienk van Grondelle has been awarded an Academy Professorship for his outstanding contributions to the understanding of the first stage in photosynthesis. He has very successfully approached this field of research from a biophysical perspective, and has established one of the leading research groups in the world in this field. More specifically, Grondelle's unique contribution has been to carry out pioneering research at the junction of biology, physics, and chemistry. By using new laser-based technology, Rienk van Grondelle's group was the first to highlight the very rapid molecular process by which plants harvest as much sunlight as possible without suffering damage as a result. The pigment that absorbs the light appears to transfer excessive energy to another pigment, where it is converted into warmth and disappears without causing any damage.