Michel, Hartmut

Michel, Hartmut (1948- ), German chemist, co-winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, with Johann Deisenhofer and Robert Huber, for their work in defining the inner workings of photosynthesis; specifically, for isolating the protein complex, which is known as a photosynthetic reaction centre, and for defining its structure. Michel was born in Ludwigsburg, West Germany (now in Germany). After receiving his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Würzburg, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, where he did his ground-breaking research. From 1987 he was head of the institute's Division of Biophysics in Frankfurt-on-Main. The three chemists published their results in 1985. Michel's research from 1978 to 1982 had produced ways to isolate and crystallize protein complexes. The three chemists then were able to map, by X-ray diffraction, the atoms that make up a protein complex and also to see the differences and similarities between the activity of the reaction centre and photosynthesis, thus enhancing general knowledge about photosynthesis.