He did not speak any modern language, besides German (and some English). However, he was confident that he would be understood, as he had learned both
Latin and Greek at school. His profound Selleck PXD101 knowledge of the Greek language gave him the background to coin the term “thylakoid” in 1961 (Menke 1961; see Gunning et al. 2006). Wilhelm Menke was an absolutely independent thinker and a true pioneer in science (see Gunning et al. 2006), with his ideas and scientific initiatives often far ahead of his time. He did not hesitate to introduce any possible new method from other disciplines into his research, from chemistry as well as from physics. Among many other things we owe him the SHP099 introduction of immunological methods into photosynthesis research (Berzborn et al. 1966).
Moreover, he was a specialist in electron microscopy (see Menke 1961, 1963, among other papers) and in numerous spectroscopic methods. X-ray scattering experiments were as familiar to him as the application of the analytical ultracentrifuge. In his research group, he established any biochemical method available at the time. Under his leadership the members of his group became specialists in lipids as well as in membrane protein purification and characterization—“lipidomics” and “proteomics” one would possibly call this today. In 1962, Menke was elected to membership of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Wilhelm Menke’s former students remember him as a most proficient and demanding teacher. Solid knowledge and understanding not only of botany, but also of chemistry as well as of physics were a prerequisite APO866 concentration to be considered a participant of the botany courses he taught. Looking back, we see it as a privilege to have had the chance to learn from him. To work in his group was both a true challenge and an adventure. A complete list of Menke’s publications is available from the authors of this tribute. Acknowledgments
We thank U. Herzhoff, W. Eichenberger, E. Heinz and especially E. Höxtermann for information. The Archives of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin-Dahlem, are cordially thanked for documents and for the portrait. This tribute to Professor Wilhelm Menke was invited see more by Govindjee. We thank him and John Allen for editing this manuscript. References Benson AA, Wintermans JFGM, Wiser R (1959) Chloroplast lipids as carbohydrate reservoirs. Plant Physiol 34:315–317PubMedCrossRef Berzborn R, Menke W, Trebst A, Pistorius E (1966) Über die Hemmung photosynthetischer Reaktionen isolierter Chloroplasten durch Chloroplasten-Antikörper. Z Naturforsch 21b:1057–1059 Fork DC (1996) Charles Stacy French: a tribute. Photosynth Res 49:91–101. doi:10.1007/BF00029431 CrossRef Gunning B, Koenig F, Govindjee (2006) A dedication to pioneers of research on chloroplast structure. In: Wise RR, Hoober JK (eds) The structure and function of plastids. Advances in photosynthesis and respiration, vol 23.