Born on 13th August, 1943, in Hirschberg. Study of chemistry Univ. of Michigan/USA, doctorate Univ. of Göttingen (1969), habilitation in organic chemistry Univ. of Marburg (1974), Associate Professor Univ. of Bonn (1978-1980), Full Professor Univ. of Marburg (1980-1991), Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute of Coal Research (since 1991), Honorary Professor Univ. of Bochum (since 1992).