Honorary Doctorate for Detlef Weigel, Computomics co-founder and member of the Scientific Advisory Board

University of Helsinki recognizes the lifetime achievements of the biologist

The University of Helsinki awarded Detlef Weigel with an honorary doctorate on Friday, May 26, 2023. Together with 29 other personalities from all over the world, the scientific director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biology Tübingen received the university's highest honor.

Detlef Weigel is one of the most important plant biologists of his generation and has already received numerous honors. With the award from the University of Finland, he now receives the title Doctor honoris causa for the second time. The Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Helsinki thus honors the totality of his scientific achievements and also recognizes his commitment to the international scientific community. In addition to his research, Weigel also advises scientific organizations and companies and supports young researchers with great enthusiasm and commitment. 

Detlef Weigel came to international prominence in the 1990s with groundbreaking findings on flower development and control of flower initiation. Studying these adaptive traits sparked Weigel's interest in how changing environmental conditions affect plant evolution. His work in recent years has revolved around questions such as how plants adapt to climate change and how the plant immune system diversifies. "Several of my Finnish colleagues are doing cutting-edge research at the interface of evolution and ecology, which for me is one of the most exciting fields in modern biology, so this recognition means a lot to me," Weigel said happily.

Prof. Dr. Detlef Weigel is Director at Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen.
He co-founded Computomics and serves on Computomics’ Scientific Advisory Board.

Read the Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology article

Title Photo: At the conferment ceremony
Photographer: Pekka Lähteenmäki