Professor Dr Markus Riederer
- Section Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- Location Würzburg, Germany
- Election year 2004
Research
Markus Riederer’s research focuses on the biology of plant surfaces especially those of leaves and fruits. His main interest is in elucidating the interactions between plants and their abiotic and biotic environment where the cuticle, the outermost lining of leaves and fruits, is involved. Major aspects of his current work are: (1) the chemical composition and molecular structure of the waxes making up the cuticular transport barrier; (2) the genetics and biosynthesis of plant cuticular waxes; (3) the mechanisms and optimisation of uptake of plant protection agents across plant surfaces; (4) the ecophysiology of cuticular transpiration and (5) the cuticular signals between leaf surfaces and insect, fungi and bacteria.
Career
- since 2018 Academic dean for teaching profession at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
- 2012-2017 Visiting professor at the Chinesische Academy of Sciences
- since 1994 Professor of Botany and Director of the Botanical Garden, University of Würzburg, Germany
- 1990 Habilitation, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- 1984 Ph. D., Technical University of Munich, Germany
- 1976-1981 Studies in Biology, Technical University of Munich, Ludwigs-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
Functions
- since 2010 Chair of the council for geoscientific high-pressure research of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences
- 2004-2011 Senate member, University of Würzburg
- since 2004 Member of the forum for ecology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences
- 2003-2012 Member of the election committee for the Humboldt research award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
- 2002-2005 Member of the administrative board of the Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum - DFG-Forschungszentrum für Experimentelle Biomedizin, Würzburg
- 2002-2005 Member of the scientific council of the Helmholtz Zentrum München – Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
- 1999-2003 Technical consoultant of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
- 1997-1999 Dean of the biological faculty of the University of Würzburg
Projects
- 2006-2009 Founding coordinator of the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Excellence Initiative, University of Würzburg
- 2001-2011 Speaker of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 567 „Mechanismen der interspezifischen Interaktion von Organismen“, University Würzburg
- 2001-2004 Speaker of the Bavarian research association BayFORUV „Erhöhte UV-Strahlung in Bayern“
- 1996-2000 Speaker of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 251 „Ökologie, Physiologie und Biochemie von Pflanzen und Tieren unter Stress“, University Würzburg
- 2004-2007 DFG Research Project „Chemische Grundlagen und Mechanik der Interaktion von Insektenbeinen mit Pflanzenoberflächen“, part of SFB 567
- 2003 DFG Research Project „Wachs als Baumaterial des Bienennestes: Kontextabhängige Produktion und Eigenschaften des Wachses und dessen Bedeutung für die Wärmeregulation des Nestes“, part of SFB 554 „Mechanismen und Evolution des Arthropodenverhaltens: Gehirn – Individuum – Soziale Gruppe“
- 2001-2011 DFG Research Project „Die Rolle kutikulärer Wachse bei der Interaktion von biotrophen Pilzen mit Pflanzenoberflächen“, part of SFB 567
- 2001-2003 DFG Research Project „Chemische Grundlagen und Mechanik der Interaktion von Insektenbeinen mit Pflanzenoberflächen“, part of SFB 567
- 2000-2007 DFG Research Project „Molekulare Organisation und ökophysiologische Funktionen epikutikulärer Wachsschichten von Pflanzen“, part of SFB 567
- 2000-2003 DFG Research Project „Nestmaterialien als Träger von Kommunikationssignalen bei sozialen Bienen“, part of SFB 554
Honours and Memberships
- 2011 German Order of Merit
- since 2005 Member of the Bavarian Academy of Science
- since 2004 Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
- 1985 Heinz Maier Leibnitz Award
- 1999 Award, Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Science