Award for Scholarly Contribution to the History of Biology: Uwe Hoßfeld Receives Caspar Friedrich Wolff Medal
We are pleased to congratulate apl. Prof. Dr. Uwe Hoßfeld, Associated Investigator and member of the Education Committee of the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse", on being awarded the Caspar Friedrich Wolff Medal by the German Society for the History and Theory of Biology (DGGTB).
Together with his long-time collaborators Michael Mielewczik (Adlikon, Switzerland) and Michal Simunek (Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague), Hoßfeld received this prestigious distinction for their monumental 600-page volume “Gregor Mendel. Experiments on Plant Hybrids”, published in 2024 by Springer. The book includes a richly annotated reprint of Mendel’s original texts, biographical insights, historical context, and an extensive analysis of the reception and scientific impact of Mendel’s work—from its initial presentation in 1865 to its rediscovery around 1900 and beyond.
The award ceremony took place during the 33rd annual meeting of the DGGTB under the theme “Aristocracy and Science”, held in Prague in June 2025.
Hoßfeld, a biologist and historian of science based at the University of Jena, has been collaborating with the Czech Academy of Sciences for more than two decades. Their joint research has addressed topics such as eugenics, plant breeding, the visualization of heredity, biology under National Socialism, and science education. A particular focus has been on Gregor Mendel, the Augustinian monk whose mid-19th-century pea plant experiments laid the foundation of modern genetics.
Already in 2022, Hoßfeld was recognized with the Mendel Memorial Medal in Brno for his outstanding contributions to the history and theory of genetics.
The Caspar Friedrich Wolff Medal is awarded to scholars who have made significant contributions to the history of biology. Named after the 18th-century pioneer of embryology, the award honors outstanding scientific work in the field and is considered one of the highest distinctions in the German-speaking world for the history of the life sciences.