Bernd Giese


Bernd Giese is a German chemist and guest professor in chemistry at the University of Fribourg in Fribourg, Switzerland since 2010.

Biography

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Giese received his Ph.D. from the University of Munich under Rolf Huisgen in 1969. From 1969 to 1971 he worked in pharmaceutical research at BASF in Ludwigshafen. He obtained his Habilitation from the University of Freiburg in 1976. From 1977 to 1988 he was full professor at the Technical University of Darmstadt and from 1989 to 2010 at the University of Basel.

Research

Giese specializes in the bio-organic chemistry and synthesis of radicals in biological systems. He contributed to the understanding of radical induced DNA cleavage and of the DNA synthesis by ribonucleotide reductase. He discovered that long range charge transfer through DNA and Peptides occurs by a hopping mechanism. The formation of CC bonds by addition of free radicals to alkenes is called Giese reaction. Giese developed concepts, guidelines, and synthetic applications for the stereochemistry of radical reactions.

Awards

Reuters News agency predicted him as a possible Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2009.