In Memoriam - Volker Schmid (1939-2008)

Abstract

Volker Schmid died peacefully on April 1, 2008, after a long severe illness. We have lost an outstanding developmental biologist who made some most important contributions to the field of cell transdifferentiation and the evolutionary developmental biology of cnidarians. Volker Schmid was born on September 23, 1939 at Schweidnitz (Poland), at the beginning of World War II. His father was a German engineer, his mother was Swiss. In the winter of 1945, Volkers family fled to Germany and later to Switzerland. He was a gifted student and entered the University of Zurich to study his favorite topic, zoology. At that time,....