6 Staudinger and His Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7 Staudinger’s Visions Toward (Bio)System Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8 The Days After Hermann Staudinger in Freiburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1 Staudinger’s Laboratory as International Historic
Chemical Landmark
On April 19, 1999 in Freiburg, the American Chemical Society and the German
Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker jointly honored Hermann Staudinger’s laboratory
at the Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg as an International Historic Chemical
Landmark dedicated to the foundation of polymer sciences by the Nobel laureate
Hermann Staudinger (1881–1965). The goal of the landmark program of the
American Chemical Society is to enhance the public’s recognition and appreciation
of the seminal achievements in the history of chemical sciences and chemical
engineering with deep impact on society and modern life. Today, the landmark
plaque (see Fig. 1), donated by the American Chemical Society, is on display at the
entrance of the building “Hermann Staudinger Haus” in Stefan-Meier-Strasse
31, hosting the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry. The institute was founded
by Hermann Staudinger in 1940 as the first European polymer research center. The
English translation reads:
International Historic Chemical Landmark, Foundation of Polymer Sciences, AlbertLudwigs-University Freiburg, State of Baden-Wu ¨rttemberg, 1926–1956. This building is
named after Hermann Staudinger, who, between 1926 and 1956, carried out his pathbreaking research on macromolecular chemistry in Freiburg. His theories on the polymer
structure of fibers and plastics and his later research on biological macromolecules formed
the basis for countless modern developments in the fields of materials science and biosciences and supported the rapid growth of the plastics industry. For his work in the field of
polymers, Staudinger was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1953 [1].
Once again, this late honor acknowledged Staudinger’s remarkable courage
during the 1920s, when he decided to leave the highly prestigious and safe harbor
of classical organic chemistry, pushing his revolutionary but still unproven concept
of macromolecules against the established doctrines of colloid chemistry and
against the harsh opposition of his colleagues. Although in 1920 no experimental
proof was at hand, he had postulated the existence of “high polymers,” which he
renamed in 1922 as “makromolekel” and “macromolecules.” As first indirect
experimental evidence for covalent bond formation in the polyisoprene backbone,
Hermann Staudinger and Jakob Fritschi at ETH Zu ¨rich applied catalytic hydrogenation of polyisoprene. After complete hydrogenation, a highly viscous solution
was retained, thus failing to produce distillable small molecules as expected for
supramolecular assemblies of cyclic isoprene dimers [2]. Among his strong opponents, crystallographers favored colloidal assemblies as they were firmly convinced
that large crystalline molecules could not exist because such large crystalline
22
H.-J. Cantow and R. Mu ¨lhaupt
7 Staudinger’s Visions Toward (Bio)System Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8 The Days After Hermann Staudinger in Freiburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1 Staudinger’s Laboratory as International Historic
Chemical Landmark
On April 19, 1999 in Freiburg, the American Chemical Society and the German
Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker jointly honored Hermann Staudinger’s laboratory
at the Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg as an International Historic Chemical
Landmark dedicated to the foundation of polymer sciences by the Nobel laureate
Hermann Staudinger (1881–1965). The goal of the landmark program of the
American Chemical Society is to enhance the public’s recognition and appreciation
of the seminal achievements in the history of chemical sciences and chemical
engineering with deep impact on society and modern life. Today, the landmark
plaque (see Fig. 1), donated by the American Chemical Society, is on display at the
entrance of the building “Hermann Staudinger Haus” in Stefan-Meier-Strasse
31, hosting the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry. The institute was founded
by Hermann Staudinger in 1940 as the first European polymer research center. The
English translation reads:
International Historic Chemical Landmark, Foundation of Polymer Sciences, AlbertLudwigs-University Freiburg, State of Baden-Wu ¨rttemberg, 1926–1956. This building is
named after Hermann Staudinger, who, between 1926 and 1956, carried out his pathbreaking research on macromolecular chemistry in Freiburg. His theories on the polymer
structure of fibers and plastics and his later research on biological macromolecules formed
the basis for countless modern developments in the fields of materials science and biosciences and supported the rapid growth of the plastics industry. For his work in the field of
polymers, Staudinger was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1953 [1].
Once again, this late honor acknowledged Staudinger’s remarkable courage
during the 1920s, when he decided to leave the highly prestigious and safe harbor
of classical organic chemistry, pushing his revolutionary but still unproven concept
of macromolecules against the established doctrines of colloid chemistry and
against the harsh opposition of his colleagues. Although in 1920 no experimental
proof was at hand, he had postulated the existence of “high polymers,” which he
renamed in 1922 as “makromolekel” and “macromolecules.” As first indirect
experimental evidence for covalent bond formation in the polyisoprene backbone,
Hermann Staudinger and Jakob Fritschi at ETH Zu ¨rich applied catalytic hydrogenation of polyisoprene. After complete hydrogenation, a highly viscous solution
was retained, thus failing to produce distillable small molecules as expected for
supramolecular assemblies of cyclic isoprene dimers [2]. Among his strong opponents, crystallographers favored colloidal assemblies as they were firmly convinced
that large crystalline molecules could not exist because such large crystalline
22
H.-J. Cantow and R. Mu ¨lhaupt