Govindjee

Govindjee (born 24 October 1932 in Allahabad, India) is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Plant Biology, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he taught from 1961 until 1999. As Professor Emeritus since 1999, Govindjee has continued to be active in the field of photosynthesis through teaching and publishing.

Govindjee received his B.Sc. at University of Allahabad, 1952; M.Sc. at the University of Allahabad, 1954; and Ph.D. at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1960. He is recognized internationally as a leading expert on photosynthesis. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1976. In 1979, he was elected a Fellow and Life Member of the National Academy of Sciences, India.

Govindjee began his PhD work with Robert Emerson who discovered the Emerson effect.[1] After Emerson's untimely death in a plane crash, Govindjee completed his PhD work in Biophysics with Eugene Rabinowitch. He has written about both Emerson and Rabinowitch.[2]

Govindjee has made pioneering contributions to the field of photosynthesis—focusing on the function of Photosystem II. He pioneered the first picosecond measurements on Photosystem I in 1978 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and then on Photosystem II in 1989 with Michael Wasielewski at Argonne National Laboratory. He is best known for establishing the unique role of bicarbonate in electron and proton transport in Photosystem II. Govindjee has not only provided the first comprehensive theory of thermoluminescence in algae and plants, but has shown how prompt and delayed fluorescence of Chlorophyll a can be used as a signature of various reactions in photosynthesis.

He is the founding Series Editor of the Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration as well as the Historical Corner of Photosynthesis Research. He has written extensively on the topic of Photosynthesis, including on the role of chlorophyll in Photosynthesis, light absorption and how plants make oxygen.

Govindjee is the recipient of several awards and honors including the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award from the Rebeiz Foundation for Basic Research,[3] the 2007 Communication Award of the International Society of Photosynthesis Research,[4] and the 2008 Alumni Achievement award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[5] In 2013, in honor of his 80th birthday, a tribute to Govindjee's life's work in photosynthesis appeared in Photosynthesis Research.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Emerson Enhancement Effect in Chloroplast Reactions
  2. ↑ Lillian Hoddeson (2004) "Robert Emerson and Eugene Rabinowitch: Understanding Photosynthesis", No Boundaries: University of Illinois Vignettes, Chapter 12, pp. 181-194. University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago
  3. ↑ Lifetime Achievement award from the Rebeiz Foundation for Basic Research
  4. ↑ 2007 Communication Award of the International Society of Photosynthesis Research
  5. ↑ Alumni Achievement award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  6. ↑ Govindjee at 80: more than 50 years of free energy for photosynthesis

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.