A life dedicated to marine research

Professor Dr Jürgen Lenz was born on 30 March 1933 in Mitau, Latvia. His school years were shaped by the upheavals of the 1930s and 1940s, taking him from Riga and Posen to Bad Sülze and Hechthausen, before he completed his school-leaving examinations in Stade in 1954. In the same year, he began his studies in the natural sciences in Göttingen, continuing later in Munich. In 1957, he moved to Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel) to pursue botany, zoology and marine science. During this time, he also took part as a research assistant in four scientific cruises on board the fisheries research vessel ANTON DOHRN.

In May 1959, Jürgen Lenz joined the former Institute for Marine Research (IfM) in Kiel – today’s GEOMAR – as a doctoral researcher and completed his doctorate under the supervision of Professor Dr Johannes Krey, who also oversaw his habilitation at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, completed in 1974.

Lenz’s scientific focus lay in planktology, a field he enriched with great dedication and outstanding expertise over many decades. In 1981, he was appointed Professor of Biological Oceanography and shaped research and teaching at the IfM until his retirement in 1998, known for his meticulous, calm and warm-hearted manner.

He is also remembered for his remarkable hospitality: international visiting scientists and doctoral researchers were regularly welcomed into his home with openness and kindness.

Even after his active professional life, Jürgen Lenz remained closely connected to the research centre as a committed member of its supporters’ association.

GEOMAR has lost a highly respected colleague, a passionate researcher and a thoughtful scientific mind who shaped marine science in Kiel for many decades.

Our thoughts are with his family and all who were close to him.