On July 13, during this year’s graduation ceremony, the President of Hochschule Geisenheim University, Prof. Dr. Hans Reiner Schultz paid tribute to Prof. Dr. Manfred Grossmannon the occasion of his retirement.
“The optimist saddles the future and ventures forth.” The President recalled that they had come across this aphorism while visiting the “Body Worlds” exhibition and had both found it very true. “For”, according to Prof. Dr. Hans Reiner Schultz, “optimism plays an important role when dealing with all the problems one encounters along the way”. He was referring to the long years of service of the Head of Department, who graduated (with honors) in Biology in 1977.
Yeasts are Prof. Dr. Manfred Grossmann’s great passion and they already played a central role in his doctoral thesis on the genetics of invertase formation in yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), for which he received his PhD from the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in 1981. From 1980 onwards he was head of quality control for a major regional winegrowers’ cooperative. During this phase of his career he collaborated widely with national and international research institutes on the use of yeasts and enzymes, visiting South Africa in 1984, for example, to work on a joint project with the Distell company in Stellenbosch. From 1988 to 1994 he held the Professorship for Microbiology in the Department of Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, during which time he communicated extensively with companies at home and abroad that were involved in the field of fermentation.
His career at Geisenheim began in 1994 when he was appointed Head of the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at what was then the Geisenheim Research Center and Professor at the Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences. During this period he made several research visits to the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Between 1997 and 2009 he was Head of the Department of Enology and Beverage Research. For a total of ten years – from 1999 to 2009 - he was Deputy Director of the Geisenheim Research Center. From 2013 onwards he was Head of the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the newly established Hochschule Geisenheim University. He also held the position of Vice-President for Research from 2014 to 2017. The President thanked him on behalf of the whole President’s Council for his dedication and commitment.
Following the transition of the Research Center to Hochschule Geisenheim University, Professor Manfred Grossmann played a key role in establishing research in several areas. He was also a driving force behind the expansion of research funding, supporting the combination of applied and basic research in line with the guiding principles of the new university.
A biologist from the Pfalz region, Professor Grossmann was an active member of many panels and associations. He was a member of the Bundesausschuss für Weinforschung, an expert consultant group on wine research of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. As German delegate in the “Wine Microbiology” expert group at the OIV (the International Organization of Vine and Wine), he was the group’s Vice-President from 2002 to 2013, followed by three years as President up until 2016. In 1999 he was awarded the OIV Medal of Honor for his services. He also belongs to the scientific advisory board of the Intervitis Interfructa Hortitechnica symposia, Stuttgart. Not only does Professor Grossmann hold two patents on the prevention of formation of cork taints and the production of low-alcohol wines, he is also co-founder of the electronic “Geisenheim Yeast Finder” and was jointly responsible for the introduction of the University’s research information system (FIS). “He’s full of good ideas. As a result of discussions with him we now have the virtual institute BAG (Bordeaux-Adelaide-Geisenheim Alliance)”, said the President.
His work has been published in scientific journals as well as in practical viticulture and enology publications, including the food technology manual “Mikrobiologie des Weines”, written in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Helmut Hans Dittrich, which is required reading for all Geisenheim graduates in the field of wine. A short film is also due to be released in which, with the help of the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, he allows his creative imagination to infuse yeast cells with dramatic vigor.
After 30 years as a professor with over 5000 students, 24 years of which he has spent at Geisenheim, retirement of course marks a new stage in his life, but there’s no sign that he will be slowing down any time soon. Prof. Dr. Manfred Grossmann is optimistic about the future and looks forward to continuing to provide advice and guidance. He offers the following tip: “A little humor and a sense of fun will get you much further than being a hardliner, and will help you negotiate any number of obstacles.” – and on this note his colleagues at the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry and the whole of Hochschule Geisenheim University wish him all the best for his well-earned retirement and hope that he retains his sense of humor for many years to come.
