Helmut Beinert (17 November 1913 – 21 December 2007) was a professor in the biochemistry department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focused on the mechanism of

enzymes Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

, in particular

metalloenzymes Metalloprotein is a generic term for a protein that contains a metal ion cofactor. A large proportion of all proteins are part of this category. For instance, at least 1000 human proteins (out of ~20,000) contain zinc-binding protein domains al ...

and iron-sulfur proteins. He was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1980.

Early life and education

Beinert was born in Lahr, Germany on 17 November 1913. He studied in the classical traditions of time, and his bachelor's education consisted of Latin, mathematics, Greek and French, along with the physical sciences. After graduation he became a professional actor, but was subsequently drafted into the army. He left the army and studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig and the University of Heidelberg, eventually completing his thesis work in 1943 at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg.

Career

In 1950 Beinert came to the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Institute for Enzyme Research to carryout his postdoctoral work. He joined the faculty at the Institute in 1952, and became a full professor in 1962. In 1984 he left

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and joined the faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he remained until 1994. He moved back to Madison, and maintained a loose affiliation with the Biochemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison until his death in 2007. He is often credited with being both a pioneer and advocate for the use of electron paramagnetic resonance in biological systems, a technique used to study compounds that have unpaired electrons. He was also an early promoter of the field of bioinorganic chemistry.

Selected awards and distinctions

* 1979 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences * 1980 - Elected to the

* 1985 - Keilin Medal from the British Biochemical Society * 1989 - Sir Hans Krebs Medal from the

Federation of European Biochemical Societies The Federation of the European Biochemical Societies, frequently abbreviated FEBS, is an international scientific society promoting activities in biochemistry, molecular biology and related research areas in Europe and neighbouring regions. It was f ...

FEBS_Memoir_2004-3.pdf FEBS * 1994 - Otto Warburg Medal from the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Germany

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beinert, Helmut 1913 births 2007 deaths American biochemists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty German emigrants to the United States Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Medical College of Wisconsin faculty