accordingly “..mit herzlichen Gru ¨ßen von Haus zu Haus” (..with warm greetings
from house to house). It seems that they also visited each other frequently and
stayed overnight in each other’s homes [23]. Once Henglein could not visit Staudinger because he could not get a visa, Karlsruhe being in the American sector and
Freiburg in the French sector [23]. Staudinger was asked to help the daughter of a
former colleague so that she could study medicine in Freiburg [23] and also to
accept a Ph.D. student in Freiburg [24]. In one case, names were asked for a
potential professor in organic chemistry in Karlsruhe [25]. Staudinger himself
told Henglein that due to electricity shortage, publications would be delayed
[26]. In another case, Henglein asked Staudinger for an organic chemist with a
Ph.D. degree as an assistant [27].
In 1950, Henglein wrote a letter to his own faculty on the occasion of the 125th
anniversary celebration of the University of Karlsruhe suggesting that Staudinger
receive an honorary Ph.D. He stated that Staudinger had always keep close relationships with Karlsruhe and basically came every year to present his work within the
“Chemische Gesellschaft” of Karlsruhe [28].
The time in Karlsruhe was very productive for Staudinger. He got to know Carl
Engler and his way of organizing a group. Staudinger appreciated Engler’s orientation towards industrially relevant questions. In addition to Engler, perhaps the
most important people he met in Karlsruhe from 1907 to 1912 (for very different
reasons in his life) were Haber, Lautenschla ¨ger, Paul Immerwahr, Ubbelohde, and
Ruzicka. Scientifically, Staudinger became familiar with polymers, viscosity, and
industry while in Karlsruhe. All these are aspects that became very important
during his later career.
And what happened in Karlsruhe with respect to polymers after Staudunger
left? The work was continued and new professorships were established. Recent
professors with a focus on polymer science have been, so far: B. Vollmert
(1965–1986, synthesis), H. Nimz (1968–1983, lignin), M. Ballauff (1990–2003,
colloids), G. Wenz (1993–2002, polyrotaxanes), S. Ho ¨ger (2002–2006, synthesis),
M. Wilhelm (2006–, rheology), C. Barner-Kowollik (2008–, synthesis), and
M. Meier (2010–, biopolymers).
Acknowledgement This contribution about Staudinger and Karlsruhe would not have been
possible without the active help of Dr. M. Mo ¨nnich from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
(KIT) library and from Dr. K. Nippert from the KIT archive.
References
1. von Bernd O (ed) (1987) Badische Biographien, Neue Folge, vol 2. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, pp
265–267
2. Kern W (1951) Zur Entwicklung der makromolekularen Chemie – H. Staudinger zum 70.
Geburtstag. Angew Chem 63:229
3. Engler C (2013) In: Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia, German version. Wikimedia Foundation,
Florida. Accessed 1 July 2013
Staudinger’s Time in Karlsruhe and His Later Relations with Karlsruhe
59
from house to house). It seems that they also visited each other frequently and
stayed overnight in each other’s homes [23]. Once Henglein could not visit Staudinger because he could not get a visa, Karlsruhe being in the American sector and
Freiburg in the French sector [23]. Staudinger was asked to help the daughter of a
former colleague so that she could study medicine in Freiburg [23] and also to
accept a Ph.D. student in Freiburg [24]. In one case, names were asked for a
potential professor in organic chemistry in Karlsruhe [25]. Staudinger himself
told Henglein that due to electricity shortage, publications would be delayed
[26]. In another case, Henglein asked Staudinger for an organic chemist with a
Ph.D. degree as an assistant [27].
In 1950, Henglein wrote a letter to his own faculty on the occasion of the 125th
anniversary celebration of the University of Karlsruhe suggesting that Staudinger
receive an honorary Ph.D. He stated that Staudinger had always keep close relationships with Karlsruhe and basically came every year to present his work within the
“Chemische Gesellschaft” of Karlsruhe [28].
The time in Karlsruhe was very productive for Staudinger. He got to know Carl
Engler and his way of organizing a group. Staudinger appreciated Engler’s orientation towards industrially relevant questions. In addition to Engler, perhaps the
most important people he met in Karlsruhe from 1907 to 1912 (for very different
reasons in his life) were Haber, Lautenschla ¨ger, Paul Immerwahr, Ubbelohde, and
Ruzicka. Scientifically, Staudinger became familiar with polymers, viscosity, and
industry while in Karlsruhe. All these are aspects that became very important
during his later career.
And what happened in Karlsruhe with respect to polymers after Staudunger
left? The work was continued and new professorships were established. Recent
professors with a focus on polymer science have been, so far: B. Vollmert
(1965–1986, synthesis), H. Nimz (1968–1983, lignin), M. Ballauff (1990–2003,
colloids), G. Wenz (1993–2002, polyrotaxanes), S. Ho ¨ger (2002–2006, synthesis),
M. Wilhelm (2006–, rheology), C. Barner-Kowollik (2008–, synthesis), and
M. Meier (2010–, biopolymers).
Acknowledgement This contribution about Staudinger and Karlsruhe would not have been
possible without the active help of Dr. M. Mo ¨nnich from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
(KIT) library and from Dr. K. Nippert from the KIT archive.
References
1. von Bernd O (ed) (1987) Badische Biographien, Neue Folge, vol 2. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, pp
265–267
2. Kern W (1951) Zur Entwicklung der makromolekularen Chemie – H. Staudinger zum 70.
Geburtstag. Angew Chem 63:229
3. Engler C (2013) In: Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia, German version. Wikimedia Foundation,
Florida. Accessed 1 July 2013
Staudinger’s Time in Karlsruhe and His Later Relations with Karlsruhe
59