Laudation for Professor Dr. Dr. hc multi Hansjörg Sinn

On the occasion of the presentation of the Joachim Jungius Medal to Professor Dr. Dr. hc multi Hansjörg Sinn, Clausthal-Zellerfeld

Mr President, Mr State Councillor, Professor Sinn, ladies and gentlemen,

Today we are presenting the Joachim Jungius Medal "in recognition of outstanding achievements in science and research" to Hansjörg Sinn. The Board of Directors and General Assembly of the Joachim Jungius Society for Science and the Humanities are honouring this scientist, who has almost uniquely combined specialist excellence with a great commitment to interdisciplinary science and university research. Throughout his life as a chemist and teacher, he has served the field of chemical engineering and macromolecular chemistry, setting standards in both Germany and abroad. He has left a lasting impression on the university and on the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. On the one side, he was the university's last Rector and first vice-president. On the other side, he served as Hamburg's senator for Science and Research. He did this with his clear analytical thinking, his ability to distil the essentials and his talent for concise formulations of ideas. As his former student, it is a pleasure and honour to briefly pay tribute to Hansjörg the scientist. I see this not only as his long-standing collaborator in chemistry, but also as a close personal friend.

Hansjörg Sinn was born on the 20th July 1929 in Ludwigshafen in the Palatinate and began studying chemistry and physics in Mainz in 1948. In 1956 he received his doctorate under F. Bohlmann and H. H. Inhoffen in Braunschweig on the topic of "Studies on Acetylene Systems". After von Inhoffen's move to the Technical University of Munich, Hansjörg received his habilitation in 1963 under Franz Patat working on "Living Polymers and Ziegler Catalysis". He was appointed lecturer in the same year and married his wife Margret with whom he has two sons.

This was followed by two years of work and practical experience at BASF in the ammonia laboratory with the task of optimizing nitrose absorption and nitric acid formation. In 1965 he took the Chair of Applied Chemistry at the University of Hamburg, succeeding Janzen. After careful consideration in both 1968 and 1972 he decline offers from the Technical University in Dortmund and Munich.

Hansjörg's work has focused on two areas. First, he followed his interest in metal-catalysed multi-reactions which had begun in his habilitation work. Second, he worked on pyrolysis of plastics and used tyres. His achievements in these areas are documented by Diplom- and PhD-theses as well as numerous publications and patents. He regarded it as a duty, as a teacher and researcher, to teach chemists how to understand the world by analysing it, changing it by synthesis and trying to predict the effects.

In addition to basic research, he worked on what would be useful to industry and society. For example, he improved the production of poly-olefins (currently the most fast-growing area of plastics) by finding a highly active catalytic system based on methyaluminoxanes. This catalytic system is now used in large-scale industrial processes and remains an area of active research. His particular interest was and is the still unclear structure of methylaluminoxane.

Early in his career, before considering issues such as patents, he recognised the importance of recycling for protecting the environment. In an essay he noted that "if mankind had found something in the earth with the typical composition of current plastics, instead of coal and oil, a petrochemical industry would have developed to use it". This led to his work trying to use the pyrolysis of plastic waste as a source of gas and oil. With the high and possibly rising price of raw oil, this idea has been rediscovered by large corporations who see it as the best possibility to conserved raw materials use our increasing mountains of plastic waste.

Students always received encouragement and constructive advice from Hansjörg who would discuss general problems until late in the evening. I will always remember excursions to large research institutes and chemical plants which brought teachers and students closer to another. A large number ex-students who are still in contact now have leading positions in industry or the civil service. Several of his students have received their own habilitation and are teaching or have taught in german universities. Hansjörg Sinn's particular interest was to establish and foster plastic and macromolecular chemistry within Hamburg. Thanks to donations from industry the department expanded and was able to appoint new colleagues. The new building in 1985 and the establishment of an independent institute are a tribute to these efforts. At the same time, there is no doubt that Hansjörg Sinn was a vital contributor to the university and to Hamburg through his activities in education policy. In 1969, as the last rector of the university, he used his creativity and talent for reconciliation to bring widely divergent groups together and lead them back to an objective discussion. It is no surprise that he was elected to be vice-president with an overwhelming majority when the presidential structure was instituted. Afterwards, he worked hard for the establishment of a technical university in Harburg and was appointed its first president. He could not hold the post for long. In 1978 he was the surprise choice for cross-party Senator for Science and Research. He held this office for six years. In this period he oversaw the foundation stones for various university buildings, the start of construction of the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, the construction of HERA, numerous new appointments and an improvement in the university's finances. Given his commitment to higher education policy he served on many other committees. For five years from 1961 he as a member of the Science Council including three yeas as Chairman Of the Scientific Commission. From 1985 to 1991 he was again on the Science Council. He was a member of the state Enquiry "Technical Higher Education Institutions", vice president of the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA), member of the Council of Environmental Experts, the Board of the German Chemical Society, the board of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and the board of the Fraunhofer Society. With his expertise and empathy he was critical in the evaluation of the academic institutes in the new german states. He chaired the scientific advisory boards the the GKSS in Geesthacht and the Polymer Research Institute in Dresden (IBF).

Given the breadth of this work, it is not a surprise that Hansjörg Sinn is a member or honorary member of many scientific societies. The Joachim Jungius Society appointed him a member. The Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz appointed him a corresponding member. The Association of German Engineers, DECHEMA and the Association for the Promotion of Hydrogen Technology appointed him an honorary member. He has received numerous awards such as the the Iron Von Melle Medal of the University of Hamburg for teaching and research, the Green Rosette and the Körber Prize for European Sciences, the Alwin Mittasch Medal of DECHEMA, the Walter Ahlström Prize of the Finnish Academies, the Hermann Staudinger Medal of the Society of German Chemists, the Grashoff Memorial Coin of the Association of German Engineers, and the Mayor Stolte Medal of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The central committee of Hamburg citizens associations awarded him the "Portugaleser", "Citizens thank you, in silver". The University of Hamburg Harburg awarded him the Dr. Ing. Ehren halber and the Technical University of Clausthal bestowed an honorary doctorate.

After his retirement in 1995 and free from many duties, he worked intensively on the chemical structure and actions of methylaluminoxane. The sudden, serious illness and death of his wife Margret three years ago shook him deeply and prompted him to move to Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

In Hansjörg Sinn, the Joachim Jungius Society honours an outstanding university lecturer with extraordinary achievements not only in teaching and research, but also in higher education policy. He is a model of scientific interest and technical competence, but also has an understanding of human nature and a passion for issues he pursues.

In his small laboratory in the Technical University in Clausthal he continues to work on open questions and research topics. For now and the future we wish him good health and productivity and all the best with his sons and friends.

Also printed in Joachim Jungius-Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Hamburg. Annual Report 2004, pages 151-152

Translated by Andrew Torda, May 2020