Professor Dr Olaf Schmidt (1943-2024)

 

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Prof. Dr. Olaf Schmidt, Emeritus Professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany, passed away on September 11, 2024 at the age of 81. Olaf was born in Derschau in Upper Silesia on November 23, 1943.

The family suffered the cruelties of the end of war turmoil until his mother could bring him to a safe refugee camp in Bavaria, West Germany. In 1952 Olaf's mother got an job in Essen, where Olaf, already eager for knowledge, went to school until 1965. Olaf then studied biology at the University of Munster and in 1973 completed his doctoral thesis concerning the Influence of Vitamin B1 on auxotrophic bacteria. In November 1973 he joined the Chair for Wood Biology at the University Hamburg. His habilitation was completed in 1980, and in 1983 he was assigned the title University Professor.

The 35 years of intensive research were devoted to the properties of bacteria and fungi and their relations to wood in a broad context. The results of his microbiological studies are well documented in about 140 peer-reviewed publications dealing with basic scientific investigations as well as practical problems of wood deterioration; they are further presented in three voluminous text books. Main fields of his earlier research concerned the following topics: wood-inhabiting bacteria and their properties and influences on wood decay; physiological characterization of house-rot fungi; growth of edible fungi on wood waste; and the relation between forest decline and micro-organisms. For about 20 years, he gave special emphasis to molecular investigations of indoor wood rot fungi based on the analysis of fungal proteins and nucleic acids and, more recently, to structural elucidation of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) for the phylogenetic identification of genera, families and orders. Thus, a data set for 18 house-rot fungi could be obtained applicable for diagnosis through sequence comparison. Moreover, the first MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry 'fingerprints'’ of Basidiomycetes were presented. His research projects also studied the bacterial origin of the Chestnut decline. The engagement of his long-time assistant Ute Moreth on these research activities is remarkable; their beneficial cooperation was demonstrated by around 50 co-authored papers.

Besides his internationally recognized research work, Prof. Schmidt was also engaged in time consuming lecturing on wood pathology and basics of wood biology in graduate courses of wood science. His well prepared and vivid lectures were much appreciated by the students. Thus he guided a great number of students in their experimental theses and helped foreign colleagues with their work. Colleagues, students, and guest – who sometimes believe in the first moments of their acquaintance with him, he would have a reserved attitude – experienced a pleasant surprise: Prof. Schmidt was one of the most helpful and cooperative teachers in the faculty who enjoyed discussing all aspects of wood science.

This memorial was written for inclusion in the November 2024 IRG Newsletter.

Special thanks to Dr Dennis Jones, and the late Professor Walter Liese for the contents.