Obituary for our esteemed Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Wolfgang Beck

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With his passing, the field of chemistry has lost an outstanding researcher, an internationally renowned scientist, and a teacher who had a lasting influence on generations of students and young researchers.

Wolfgang Beck was born on May 5, 1932. After studying at what got later the Technical University of Munich, he earned his doctorate in natural sciences there in 1960 under Walter Hieber. His extraordinary scientific productivity and originality became apparent early on. On August 21, 1968, he was appointed to Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversityMunich, where he worked as a professor at the Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry in what is now the Department of Chemistry at LMU Munich until his retirement in 2000. Despite offers from Marburg and Hamburg, he made a conscious decision to remain in Munich—a remarkable example of academic stabilitas loci that reflects his deep attachment to LMU.

From 1973 to 1975, Wolfgang Beck served as dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, shaping the faculty's development during this period with great commitment and vision. With a certificate dated July 12, 2000, he retired at the end of September 2000 – but he remained impressively connected to science even after that.

Wolfgang Beck is one of the most important representatives of inorganic and organometallic coordination chemistry. His scientific work is exceptionally extensive and is documented in more than 600 publications. Bioinorganic chemistry was also one of his long-standing areas of interest, to which he devoted himself with undiminished curiosity and creative energy until old age.

Wolfgang Beck is one of the most important representatives of inorganic and organometallic coordination chemistry. His scientific work is exceptionally extensive and is documented in more than 600 publications. Bioinorganic chemistry was also one of his long-standing areas of interest, to which he devoted himself with undiminished curiosity and creative energy until old age.

Wolfgang Beck received numerous awards for his scientific achievements, including the Karl Winnacker Scholarship (1966), the Chemistry Prize of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences (1967), and the Liebig Medal of the German Chemical Society (1994). He received a special honor in 2011 when his alma mater, the Technical University of Munich, awarded him an honorary doctorate (Dr. rer. nat. h. c.).

Beyond his impressive professional achievements, many will remember him as a person who pursued science with passion, discipline, and intellectual openness. His precision, his enormous knowledge of literature, and his tireless spirit of research made him a role model for colleagues and his numerous students alike.

We bow our heads in gratitude for Wolfgang Beck's life's work. His name and his achievements will remain forever linked with LMU Munich, the Department of Chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and the international scientific community. Our sympathy goes out to his family and to all those who were close to him personally and professionally.