The story of my life into and through the science of photosynthesis: a personal perspective.

Abstract

I present here the story of my personal and scientific life. I provide information on my parents, my childhood, schooling, education at the Wageningen Agricultural University, and the work for my PhD degree on the action of some herbicides on photosynthesis under the guidance of Professor Evert Christiaan Wassink. After graduation, I obtained a position as a professor. In 1977, I spent a one-year sabbatical with Professor Govindjee at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. This was the start of a long-time and successful cooperation on the effects of bicarbonate on Photosystem II. The research on the impact of herbicides on photosynthesis was extended in cooperation with Professor Ko Wakabayashi and his co-workers at the Tamagawa University at Machida-shi, Tokyo, Japan. Another topic of my research was the photoinhibition of PSII by too much light; for this, I worked with Professor Christa Critchley at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. At the end, I list my service in several professional committees.