Gunnar Öquist (born 1941) is a Swedish

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (b ...

Umeå University Umeå University ( sv, Umeå universitet; Ume Sami: ) is a public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders. As of ...

, and served as the permanent secretary of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

from 2003 to 2010. He graduated from

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

in 1967 and enrolled in postgraduate studies in Umeå in 1968. He earned his Ph.D. at Umeå University in 1972 with the Thesis ''Some effects of light intensity and iron deficiency on pigmentation and photosynthesis in the blue-green alga Anacystis nidulans''. He was made

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

in plant physiology 1974. After two years at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in ...

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, bl ...

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

and

higher plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They a ...

s when they are submitted to variations in light intensity, temperature, supply of water or supply of nutrition. Öquist served as the main secretary of the Natural Sciences Research Council (NFR), a former Swedish governmental body for science funding, from 1993 to 1999. Öquist has been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences since 1986, and became the Academy's permanent secretary on July 1, 2003, when he succeeded Erling Norrby. On July 1, 2010, Öquist retired from the post and was succeeded by

Staffan Normark Jan ''Staffan'' Normark (born 1945) is a Swedish physician, microbiologist and infectious disease researcher. He grew up in Umeå and was awarded his Ph.D. at Umeå University in 1971. At the end of the 1970s, he was one of the first Swedish sci ...

.Kungl. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: Staffan Normark blir ny ständig sekreterare
, press release April 15, 2010

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oquist, Gunnar 1941 births Living people Swedish botanists Academic staff of Umeå University Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science