Jury report for prof. dr. ir. J.S. (Jaap) Sinninghe Damsté

Head of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and professor of molecular palaeontology at Utrecht University

Professor Sinninghe Damsté receives the NWO Spinoza prize 2004 for, amongst other things, his biological, geological and chemical work on fossil molecules in sediments.

Jaap Sinninghe Damsté (Baarn, 1 January 1959) has been head of the Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology Department of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research since 2002. In addition to this he has been professor of molecular palaeontology at Utrecht University since 2003. Sinninghe Damsté graduated with a distinction in analytical environmental chemistry from Delft University of Technology in 1984 and he gained his doctorate in organic geochemistry with a distinction from there in 1988. In 1993 Sinninghe Damsté received an NWO Pioneer subsidy. He left Delft and set up his own research group at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research on Texel. Sinninghe Damsté has also held a position at Utrecht University since 1993.

Sinninghe Damsté is a molecular biogeochemist. He analyses specific organic compounds in sediments, so-called chemical fossils. He uses the information he obtains to reconstruct the life and climate of earlier epochs. The chemical fossils form, amongst other things, a sort of biological ancient thermometer and provide insights into the microbial evolution on earth.

Sinninghe Damsté's research into chemical fossils is of world class and has resulted in important new insights. For example thanks to his Ph.D. research, theories about the worldwide carbon and sulphur cycles had to be revised. This was because Sinninghe Damsté discovered large numbers of new organic sulphur compounds in sediments and crude oil. Later in his career Sinninghe Damsté discovered that archaea, also called 'ancient bacteria', not only occurred at extreme locations but were in fact widely distributed. Furthermore, he found that just like plants, archaea grow using carbon dioxide and that once again had consequences for the theory about the carbon cycle.

According to insiders, Sinninghe Damsté has been 'a pivotal force in biogeochemistry' over the past 10 years and he leads one of the world's best research groups in this field. Sinninghe Damsté is one of the most outstanding and inspiring researchers of his generation. He already has more than 300 publications to his name, about 20 of which have been in Science and Nature. His achievements and varied interests, combined with his productivity and age justify high expectations for the future.

Further information for the press available from:

prof. dr. ir. J.S. (Jaap) Sinninghe Damsté (Marine Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Organic Chemistry, Utrecht University)

t: +31 (0)222 369 550 en +31 (0)30 253 50 05, damste@nioz.nl

http://www.nioz.nl/nioz_nl/2384a08d599a5b4c78929309e5b38f7a.php

This jury report served as the basis for the speech given by Prof. R. Kaptein at the announcement ceremony for the NWO Spinoza prizes 2004 on 7 June.