Ludger Kappen

Ludger Kappen is an ecophysiologist, botanist and lichenologist. He was director of the Botanic Institute and Botanical Garden at the University of Kiel, and chairman and director of the university's Polar Ecology Institute.

Early life and education Kappen studied within the biological sciences at Freiburg and Göttingen, and was awarded a doctorate in 1963 for his work on the effects of environmental stress on ferns.

Career Kappen's first academic post was at the Forest Botanical Institute of the University of Göttingen investigating cold tolerance in fir trees, grape vines, lichens and marine algae. He also studied aspects of photosynthesis in these stressful environments. In 2004 he was awarded the Acharius Medal by the International Association for Lichenology in recognition of his lifetime's work.