On April 17, 2010, the world of bioelectrochemistry and bioelectromagnetics lost one of its pioneers and luminaries. The scientific world is the poorer for the passing of Hermann Berg.
Hermann began his scientific career in an unorthodox manner. He was captured by the Russian army in Georgia during World War II, while serving as a German soldier. Recognizing his intellectual ability, the government transferred him to Russia and gave him his university and graduate training. His initial training was in classical electrochemistry, and he returned to what was then East Germany to work at the East German Academy of Sciences installation, ZIMET, (now IMB) in Jena. When I first met him in 1972 in New York at a NY Academy of Sciences symposium, his interest had already altered to include bioelectrochemistry. As his familiarity with the biological world increased, his interests moved further to the right (or left, depending on one's scientific point of view) to include the field of electroporation and bioelectromagnetics. At the time of his death, he was working on projects relating to the interaction of magnetic flelds and tumorostatic agents with a view toward improving anticancer therapy. He also was very interested in the elucidation of the general mechanisms of action of electrical and magnetic fields in biological systems.
Along the way, he was a prolific, state-of-the-art literature reviewer, a writer and reviewer of countless journal articles, and a general source of light for young scientists—with a long list of graduate students who often lived and worked out of his house.
Hermann was a dedicated scientist, but also a good-humored, warm, and friendly person. He was an equally dedicated family man. As the Pater Familias of a fairly extensive brood of children and grandchildren, with his wife, Liebgard, he enjoyed the delights of playing Father Christmas and being a good grandpa. He was also a very good gardener, and the grounds of his home on Greifberg Strasse in Jena were well kept and botanically interesting. Until recently, he was a healthy and athletic person, enjoying walks in the country at speeds which often left his followers far behind.
He was a great personal friend and colleague, and shall be missed by many.
Stephen D. Smith, Ph.D.,
Prof. Emeritus,Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology,University of Kentucky College of Medicine