Helmut Beinert

Helmut Beinert (17 November 1913 – 21 December 2007) was a professor in the biochemistry department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focused on the mechanism of enzymes, in particular metalloenzymes and iron-sulfur proteins. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1980.

Early life and education Beinert was born in Lahr, Germany on 17 November 1913. He studied in the classical traditions of time, and his bachelor's education consisted of Latin, mathematics, Greek and French, along with the physical sciences. After graduation he became a professional actor, but was subsequently drafted into the army. He left the army and studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig and the University of Heidelberg, eventually completing his thesis work in 1943 at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg.

Selected awards and distinctions 1979 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1980 - Elected to the National Academy of Sciences 1994 - Otto Warburg Medal from the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Germany