Building Bridges between Biotechnology and Chemistry – Oreste Ghisalba's Pioneering Activities, Publications and Programs

Abstract

This contribution focusses on Oreste Ghisalba's pioneering activities in both fundamental as well as applied research in biocatalysis and his work on building bridges not only between biotechnology and chemistry, but also culturally, geographically and between academia and industry. His scientific work published in journals, books and conferences will be reviewed and his teaching at ETH Zurich and the University of Basel will be highlighted. Furthermore, an appreciation will be given of his broad knowledge and vision in shaping the activities of the Swiss Coordination Committee Biotechnology (SKB), the Swiss-Japanese Meetings in Biotechnology, conferences and research programs such as the Swiss Priority Program Biotechnology (SPP Biotech) of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Keywords

• enzymes in organic synthesis
• industrial biotransformations
• microbial biodegradation
• microbial biosynthesis
• microbial enzymes