Peter K. Schuster (born 7 March 1941) is a theoretical chemist known for his work with the German Nobel Laureate

Manfred Eigen Manfred Eigen (; 9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019) was a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions. Eigen's research helped solve major problems in physical chemistry and ...

in developing the quasispecies model. His work has made great strides in the understanding of

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almo ...

and their replication, as well as theoretical mechanisms in the

origin of life Abiogenesis is the natural process by which life arises from abiotic component, non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothesis is that the transition from non-living to organism, living entities on ...

Biography

Schuster was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and graduated with highest honors from "gymnasium". He studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and earned his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1967. He was a Postdoc at the

Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (), also known as the Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute (), was a research institute of the Max Planck Society, located in Göttingen, Germany. On January 1, 2022, the institute merged with ...

. Together with Eigen, Schuster developed the quasispecies model. He is full professor of

theoretical chemistry Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface ...

at the

, the founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, as well as the current head of its Department of Molecular Evolutionary Biology. He is an external faculty member at the

Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inc ...

. Currently, Prof. Schuster is the President of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

Honours and awards

* 1971: Theodor Körner promotion price * 1971: Jubilee Award of the Chemical-Physical Society * 1983: Erwin Schrödinger Prize of the

* 1989: Dr. Asen Zlatarov price of the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; , ''Bŭlgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated БАН) is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy, with headquarters in Sofia, is autonomous and consists of a S ...

* 1993:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

* 1993: Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

* 1995: Philip Morris Research Prize * 1995: Josef Loschmidt Medal of the Austrian Chemical Society * 1997: City of Vienna Prize for Science * 1997: Cardinal Innitzer Prize for Science * 1999:

Wilhelm Exner Medal The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921. The medal is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner (1840–1931), former president of the Association, who initialize ...

of the Austrian Trade Association.Editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria. * 2010: Great Silver Medal for Service to the City of Vienna

References

External links

Schuster's personal homepage at the University of Vienna

Curriculum vitae

regarding Cardinal Schönborn's statement on evolution
Schuster's Profile
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuster, Peter 1941 births Living people 20th-century Austrian people 21st-century Austrian people 20th-century Austrian biologists Austrian agnostics Theoretical biologists 21st-century Austrian biologists Scientists from Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Santa Fe Institute people Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

Biography

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links