2.3 A “Historical Meeting” in Freiburg in the Late 1970s
and Other Memories: Anecdotes from Leo Gros
(Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Idstein)
That Contribute to the Teaching of Polymer Science
As a Ph.D. student in Helmut Ringsdorf’s research group in Mainz, I enjoyed the
yearly seminars in a ski hut near the Schauinsland Mountain, not far from Freiburg.
These seminars preceded the Freiburger Kolloquium and were meant to prepare the
research group for this highlight in German polymer research communication. Each
of us had to prepare short presentations on the topic of one of the scheduled
presentations or posters, which were then discussed. Walks in the winter landscape
(the Kolloquium takes place end of February) and evenings with wine tastings and
music made by members of the group were attractive parts of the event. Moreover,
Helmut Ringsdorf invited guests who spoke to and discussed with us. One of them
was Hans Sachsse (the inventor of a process to produce acetylene, named after
him), a chemist-philosopher who enriched our discussions with his interdisciplinary
comments.
I keep especially fond memories of Herman Mark’s appearance in such a
seminar, probably at the end of the 1970s. Given all the tensions that had existed
between Herman Mark and Hermann Staudinger, it was quite an achievement to
arrange a meeting of Herman Mark and Magda Staudinger one morning in the ski
hut: What a happening, what an adventure! Mark mastered it by remaining the
gentleman he had always been. They both reported on “their” old days of polymer
science, Herman Mark in his light, always positive mentality, Magda Staudinger a
little bit more emotional, intensively defending her husband’s – unattacked –
macromolecules. Only from time to time did our discussion leader, Hans Sachsse
have to step in, in his philosophical smiling way. What a moment, a historical, and
personally for us young students even a historic one. But the most emotional
moment – close, very close to happening – was when Herman Mark laughing and
with open arms approached Magda Staudinger at the end in an attempt to embrace
her. It did not happen! In the very last moment Magda Staudinger shrank back. . ..
and all this in a cheerful, relaxed atmosphere.
In those days, I had the honour to pick Herman Mark up at Freiburg main station
with my “VW-Beetle” and drive him to his hotel, the ski hut and back. During these
car rides and the long evenings, I learnt lots about his involvement in the development of polymer science. An anecdote he told me was, if I remember correctly,
related to his presentation at the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher in
Du ¨sseldorf 1926. This was the “hot period” of Hermann Staudinger’s discussions
with the “micelle and aggregation mafia”. Mark was in these days, with his X-ray
investigations of cellulose, basically already on Staudinger’s side. In his talk he had
not excluded the existence of what we now call macromolecules from the standpoint of crystallography. A renowned organic chemist told him: “You are brilliant,
young man, as a crystallographer. Imagine you were a botanist knowing all plants in
Europe. After an excursion to Africa you come back and still being excited about
A Moment of Reflection: Sixty Years After the Nobel Prize for Hermann Staudinger
7
and Other Memories: Anecdotes from Leo Gros
(Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Idstein)
That Contribute to the Teaching of Polymer Science
As a Ph.D. student in Helmut Ringsdorf’s research group in Mainz, I enjoyed the
yearly seminars in a ski hut near the Schauinsland Mountain, not far from Freiburg.
These seminars preceded the Freiburger Kolloquium and were meant to prepare the
research group for this highlight in German polymer research communication. Each
of us had to prepare short presentations on the topic of one of the scheduled
presentations or posters, which were then discussed. Walks in the winter landscape
(the Kolloquium takes place end of February) and evenings with wine tastings and
music made by members of the group were attractive parts of the event. Moreover,
Helmut Ringsdorf invited guests who spoke to and discussed with us. One of them
was Hans Sachsse (the inventor of a process to produce acetylene, named after
him), a chemist-philosopher who enriched our discussions with his interdisciplinary
comments.
I keep especially fond memories of Herman Mark’s appearance in such a
seminar, probably at the end of the 1970s. Given all the tensions that had existed
between Herman Mark and Hermann Staudinger, it was quite an achievement to
arrange a meeting of Herman Mark and Magda Staudinger one morning in the ski
hut: What a happening, what an adventure! Mark mastered it by remaining the
gentleman he had always been. They both reported on “their” old days of polymer
science, Herman Mark in his light, always positive mentality, Magda Staudinger a
little bit more emotional, intensively defending her husband’s – unattacked –
macromolecules. Only from time to time did our discussion leader, Hans Sachsse
have to step in, in his philosophical smiling way. What a moment, a historical, and
personally for us young students even a historic one. But the most emotional
moment – close, very close to happening – was when Herman Mark laughing and
with open arms approached Magda Staudinger at the end in an attempt to embrace
her. It did not happen! In the very last moment Magda Staudinger shrank back. . ..
and all this in a cheerful, relaxed atmosphere.
In those days, I had the honour to pick Herman Mark up at Freiburg main station
with my “VW-Beetle” and drive him to his hotel, the ski hut and back. During these
car rides and the long evenings, I learnt lots about his involvement in the development of polymer science. An anecdote he told me was, if I remember correctly,
related to his presentation at the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher in
Du ¨sseldorf 1926. This was the “hot period” of Hermann Staudinger’s discussions
with the “micelle and aggregation mafia”. Mark was in these days, with his X-ray
investigations of cellulose, basically already on Staudinger’s side. In his talk he had
not excluded the existence of what we now call macromolecules from the standpoint of crystallography. A renowned organic chemist told him: “You are brilliant,
young man, as a crystallographer. Imagine you were a botanist knowing all plants in
Europe. After an excursion to Africa you come back and still being excited about
A Moment of Reflection: Sixty Years After the Nobel Prize for Hermann Staudinger
7