Roland Benz (born 1943 in
Singen
Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.
Location
Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...
,
Baden-Württemberg) is a German
biophysicist.
Early life and education
Benz studied
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
, and
physics at the
University of Würzburg. In 1972, he obtained his
Ph.D. in biology, with
Peter Läuger at
University of Konstanz as his supervisor; and, in 1977, he obtained his
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in
Biophysics.
Career
A Heisenberg Fellow of the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (German Science Foundation), Benz was a
visiting professor at
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
(SUNYSB) in 1980 and 1982. In 1984, he was a visiting professor at
University of British Columbia in
Vancouver.
In 1986, Benz became a full professor of
biotechnology at the University of Würzburg, his ''alma mater''.
Since 2003, Benz has been a Member of the European Graduate College; and, since 2005, a Member in the French–German Graduate College, both sponsored by the DFG.
Since 2009, Benz has held the Wisdom Professorship at the
Jacobs University Bremen and has been a research fellow at the
Rudolf Virchow Center
The Rudolf Virchow Center (''RVZ'') is the DFG Research Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging of the University of Würzburg. It was started in 2001 as one of three German ''Centers of Excellence'' funded by the German Research Fo ...
and the
DFG Research Center for Experimental Biomedicine. He remains a professor at the University of Würzburg.
Research interests
Benz's research interests include the periplastic structure and organization of
cell membranes and other
biological membrane
A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the ce ...
s; biophysical processes and the molecular basis of membrane
proteins in
microorganisms and higher organisms; and, pore-forming
peptides and proteins.
Benz is the leader of several research projects, including:
*the molecular basis of signal transduction and membrane transport (SFB 176; 1987–1999);
*ecology, physiology, and biochemistry of plants under stress (SFB 251; 1989–1992);
*nuclear magnetic resonance ''in vivo'' and in vitro for the study of biomedical basic elements (Member in the DFG-Graduate College; 1992–1999); and,
*the regulatory membrane proteins: from the mechanism of recognition to the pharmacological structure (SFB 487; seit 2000).
Awards
In 2002, Benz was recognised with the ''Gay-Lussac/Humboldt Award de la Ministère de recherche français'' for his role in the development of a Franco–German collaboration.
In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Barcelona.
In 2011, he was honoured, with another honorary doctorate, by the
Umeå University's Faculty of Medicine
"Roland Benz honorary doctor at Umeå University"
Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Juni 2011
Publications
* Benz R. (1980.) ''Künstliche Lipidmembranen. Modelle für biologische Membranen'', Universitätsverlag Konstanz,
* Benz R. (2004.) ''Bacterial and Eukaryotic Porins. Structure, Function, Mechanism'', Wiley-VCH,
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benz, Roland
1943 births
Living people
German biophysicists
People from Singen
University of Würzburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Würzburg
University of Konstanz alumni