title: Louis Nico Marie Duysens (March 15, 1921-September 8, 2015): a leading biophysicist of the 20th century.
abstract: Louis Nico Marie (L. N. M.) Duijsens (Duysens) was one of the giants in the biophysics of photosynthesis. His PhD thesis "Transfer of Excitation Energy in Photosynthesis" (Duysens, 1952) is a classic; he introduced light-induced absorption difference spectroscopy to photosynthesis research and proved the existence of reaction centers, introducing advanced methods from physics to understand biological processes. Further, it is his 1959-1961 seminal work, with Jan Amesz, that provided evidence for the existence of the series scheme for the two light reactions in oxygenic photosynthesis. In one word, he was one of the master biophysicists of the 20th century-who provided direct measurements on many key intermediates, and made us understand the intricacies of photosynthesis with a simplicity that no one else ever did. We present here our personal perspective of the scientist that Lou Duysens was. For an earlier perspective, see van Grondelle and van Gorkom (Photosynth Res 120: 3-7, 2014).
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Center of Biophysics & Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 265 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. gov@illinois.edu.|School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India. gov@illinois.edu.
authors.lastname: Govindjee
authors.affiliation: , Gerard Doustraat 7, 3583SB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pulles
mesh_terms: D001703:Biophysics / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D008027:Light; D009426:Netherlands; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000266:history; D010788:Photosynthesis
keywords: Electron carriers; Excitation energy transfer; Primary photochemistry; Reaction Centers; Two light reactions; Two photosystems