Eigen's research helped solve major problems in physical chemistry and aided in the understanding of chemical processes that occur in living organisms.
In later years, he explored the biochemical roots of life and evolution. He worked to install a multidisciplinary program at theMax Planck Institute to study the underpinnings of life at the molecular level. His work was hailed for creating a new scientific and technological discipline: evolutionarybiotechnology.[5]
Eigen was born on 9 May 1927 inBochum,[6][7] the son of Ernst and Hedwig (Feld) Eigen, a chamber musician.[8] As a child he developed a deep passion for music, and studied piano.[5]
World War II interrupted his formal education. At age fifteen he was drafted into service in a German antiaircraft unit. He was captured by the Americans toward the end of the war.[9] He managed to escape (he said later that escape was relatively easy),[5] and walked hundreds of miles across defeated Germany, arriving in Göttingen in 1945. He lacked the necessary documentation for acceptance to university,[10] but was admitted after he demonstrated his knowledge in an exam. He entered the university's first postwar class.
Eigen desired to study physics, but since returning soldiers who were enrolled previously received priority, he enrolled in Geophysics. He earned an undergraduate degree and began graduate study in natural sciences. One of his advisors wasWerner Heisenberg, the noted proponent of theuncertainty principle.[5] He received his doctorate in 1951.
Eigen received his Ph.D. at theUniversity of Göttingen in 1951 under supervision ofArnold Eucken.[3] In 1964 he presented the results of his research at a meeting of theFaraday Society in London. His findings demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to determine the rates of chemical reactions that occurred during time intervals as brief as a nanosecond.[citation needed]
Eigen was married to Elfriede Müller.[8] The union produced two children, a boy and a girl.[8] He later marriedRuthild Winkler-Oswatitsch, a longtime scientific partner.[5]
^abWinkler-Oswatitsch, R. (1987), "Manfred Eigen. Scientist and musician",Biophys. Chem., vol. 26, no. 2–3 (published 9 May 1987), pp. 109–15,doi:10.1016/0301-4622(87)80015-7,PMID3300805
^ab"Manfred Eigen Festschrift: special issue dedicated to Professor Manfred Eigen on the occasion of his 60th birthday",Biophys. Chem., vol. 26, no. 2–3 (published 9 May 1987), pp. 101–390, 1987,PMID3300802
Eigen, Manfred (2013).From strange simplicity to complex familiarity : a treatise on matter, information, life and thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-857021-9.OCLC867631103.
Eigen, Manfred (1993).Laws of the game : how the principles of nature govern chance. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-02566-5.OCLC25787606.
