In memoriam: Prof. Dr. Karsten Krohn, a Brilliant, Charming, Helpful and Dedicated Organic Chemist

In Memoriam

Prof. Dr. Karsten Krohn My personal insight of a Brilliant, Charming, Helpful and

Dedicated Organic Chemist

From left: Odile, Prof. Krohn and yours truly during the Christmas Party Celebration of the RCNS,

UST in Dec of 2001

How I came to know Prof. Dr. Karsten Krohn

The history of science tells us that most of the famous chemists emanated from the great

nation of Germany and Prof. Karsten Krohn was definitely one of them. His stature as a highly

respected university professor, resolute researcher, caring theses adviser, strong partner of

foreign scientists and his numerous eminent publications in reputable journals all attest to his

luminous reputation and solid devotion to organic chemistry. And so I consider myself as one

of the most privileged and truly fortunate people who have personally known and worked

with Prof. Dr. Karsten Krohn. He was also a very big blessing to the University of Santo Tomas

(UST) whom he visited in 2001 as a Guest Lecturer of Advanced Organic Chemistry offered by

the Graduate School. Even today, his influence can still be felt in UST through the testimonies

of several multi-awarded academics which directly or indirectly were assisted by him in the

advancement of their profession by way of higher degrees, research experience and world-

class publications.

The first personal communication I had with Prof. Karsten Krohn or as he would usually

abbreviate his name fondly as KK in our email correspondences came in 1999. It was a positive

reply from him to my first yahoo email inquiry on the possibility of doing a research visit in his

chemistry department in Paderborn University. Actually, I knew of Prof. Krohn from my first

trip to Germany in Braunschweig way back in 1988 when I believe it was Dr. Victor Wray,

resident NMR Spectroscopist of GBF who personally mentioned Prof. Krohn to me. After my 3-

month course in the International Training Program (ITP) of Industrial Biotechnology at the

GBF in 1988, I still wanted to do more work on bioactive microbial natural products. In fact the

research project that I completed with 3 other ITP participants as a group was on the

production, purification and characterizations of the bioactive microbial metabolite: Myxin

from a Myxobacter sp. And so I was scouting for another research institute to visit after my

short 3-month stint at the GBF. Dr. Wray told me of Prof. Krohn who he said is already well-

known for his extensive work on bioactive natural products from fungi. However, after the ITP

course at GBF I was not able to send a letter of inquiry to Prof. Krohn and I went back home to

Manila. That desire of mine to work with Prof. Krohn slept for over 11 long years. Finally, in

December of 1999 that interest to work with Prof. Krohn awakened. I finally sent him a yahoo

email inquiry; thinking that if I dont get a reply from Prof. Krohn due to my long hesitation, it

will just be ok with me. Someone said, I believe it was Marie Osmond that it is better to try

and fail than never to have tried at all. Surprisingly, that try bore good news and a lifelong

research interest on the study of bioactive microbial metabolites. I got a prompt and warm

reply from Prof. Krohn informing me of an available space in his lab at Paderborn University

for 3 months commencing in September of 2000. My flight, fright and fight hormone shot up

when I read the good news. With feelings of euphoria, I immediately emailed and thanked

Prof. Krohn for accepting me to work in his lab. With less than a year more to go, I felt stressed

as I still have plenty of work to do in preparing my microbial extracts to be brought to

Paderborn. Since Prof. Krohn worked mainly with fungi, I informed him that I was working with

streptomycetes which are mould-like bacteria that are known producers of numerous

biologically active compounds like antibtiotics. After screening several streptomycetes that

were isolated from soil samples within Metro Manila, several showed potent broad

antimicrobial activities against bacteria and fungi. To facilitate the preparation of my samples,

I requested him if I can do the production, isolation and characterization of the bioactive

compounds in Paderborn University. I was so happy when he agreed to my request because it

lessened tremendously the work that I still have to do in the UST Research Center. Yet again, I

requested the DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service for a 3-month research visit

grant which I entreated as a Return Visit on account of a special privilege as a former DAAD

scholar in 1992 - 1993. The grant should fund my round-trip plane fare and accommodation in

Germany. Needless to say, DAAD immediately awarded me the scholarship grant that made

possible my trip to Paderborn in 2000. Indeed, I am eternally grateful and always appreciative

of what the DAAD has done to me and to many of my teaching colleagues in UST in the

attainment of their higher degrees through all these years. I hope and pray that DAAD will

continue its noble and virtuous service of providing assistance to deserving academics from

the developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America. The year 1999 came to a close and

the much hyped end of the world due to the Y2K bug did not happen.

My Fourth Trip to Germany

In the last days of August 2000, the day of my departure for Germany finally came. I was

driven to the Airport one late and traffic-busy afternoon by my good friends and teaching

colleagues at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Two of my friends arrived at my rented

studio in Maria Cristina Street, Sampaloc which was of walking distance to UST. Sheila de Jesus

and Bong Alejandro fetched me and drove me all the way to the airport from my rented place.

Bong was seated beside Sheila while I sat at the back. Sheila owned and was also driving the

car. An unforgettable incident happened, as we were navigating and about to exit the narrow

single lane street of Maria Cristina, a loaded passenger jeepney entered and blocked our path.

The jeepney was probably looking for an alternative route to escape the heavy traffic. I got

nervous as the jeepney seemed in a position of not budging in to our cars exit. OMG, I said to

myself, I needed to be in the airport fast to catch my flight to Frankfurt. When the jeepney did

not seem to be going anywhere, Sheila de Jesus alighted from her car and shouted at the

jeepney driver to back-off. I was astounded at what Sheila just did; I dont know if I can also do

what she did at that instance. With some help from above, the jeepney driver who saw what

he was up against with, a pretty but fearsome lady driver, instantly backed off and allowed us

to freely exit. To this day, I am indebted to Sheilas bravery otherwise I would not have made it

in time for my departure. We arrived in the airport in the nick of time due to the heavy traffic

and after the moving hugs and goodbyes, Sheila and Bong left me and they drove back to UST.

In a hurry and with thankful prayers, I checked in and after several hours of flying via

Lufthansa over the vast Eurasian continent, I soon arrived in Frankfurt. My plane landed in the

heart of Europe at dawn, it was an event that I experienced several times before with so much

fondness. I consider Germany my second home and so I had no worries in manoeuvring myself

in the immense Frankfurt Airport and onwards to Paderborn. Immediately I exited the airport

for a few minutes to carry out a simple ritual. Outside, with the main gate of the airport

behind me, I looked up and greeted all the tall, shiny and mighty buildings of Frankfurt in front

of me. The grand view represented to me the majestic economic power of the great German

nation and then I deeply inhaled the cool fresh air and exhaled a heavy misty puff. After that

personal ritual of mine of paying my respect to Germany, I swiftly went back inside the airport

and secured my connecting flight to Paderborn. Speaking basic German gave me the full

confidence to talk to the beautiful and the kind people around me. Based on the number of

times that I have been in Germany, I honestly find the people of this country most attractive,

warm, friendly, helpful and very accommodating to strangers.

Meeting Prof. Krohn in Paderborn

Paderborn is a small, cosy, modern, very catholic and cultured city nestled in the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia. The catholic identity of Paderborn goes all the way back to the citys

being founded as a bishop-supervised diocese by Emperor Charlemagne the Great in 795 A.D.

When I arrived in Paderborn, the airport officials checked the contents of my luggage and

found a red metal box containing all my samples in small vials. I got tense telling them that the

vials were for research purposes for I knew that due to its technical nature, they will surely be

suspicious of what they were. As I was explaining to them with difficulty what those vials were,

my rescuer: Prof. Krohn arrived. He saw me and then talked to the airport officials with much

authority and in an instant he whisked me out of the airport. With feelings of much relief, I

was so happy, privilege and thankful to finally meet Prof. Karsten Krohn for the first time in

person. What I appreciated at the start was his strong grasp and firm handshake which is hard

to come by these days with most people you meet. Next were my first impressions of him: a

charming and cheerful German, athletically built, very receptive to what youre saying and also

very friendly. From someone who was born in the cold regions of northern Germany he was

surprisingly warm and nice. He grabbed my luggage which I found so heavy to carry and

hoisted it inside his car without much effort. His car was an impressive BMW and it made me

so excited because its going to be the first time in my life that I will ride in this luxurious car.

Though I know that I will never own a BMW, Hollywood movies, advertisements and my

magazine readings have made BMW the best brand of car for me. By the way from my

previous visit to Germany in 1988, I had the chance to ride in Mercedes Benz taxis from

Hannover to Braunschweig and back.

We travelled for a few minutes out of Paderborn to his house located in the emerald

countryside of Brchen, a nice and bucolic town where Prof. Krohn and his wife Odile lived.

Brchen is located some way off to the south of Paderborn. Odile is French and was probably

named after the famous character of the popular ballet Swan Lake. I found her to be a

strong-willed and courageous woman who is somewhat opinionated but we got along well.

Odile settled in Germany when she married Prof. Krohn. They both have a son and a daughter;

both are already working professionals, which unfortunately I never had the chance to meet

when I was in Paderborn. Prof. Krohns house is big and attractive by German standards with a

spacious green backyard. Soon Prof. Krohn introduced me to Odile and their friendly dog

called Jacky. Jacky was so jolly she was jumping all over me when I first met her. I brought

several gifts for the Krohns, foremost were the boxes of dried mangoes which Prof. Krohn

loved very much and some Filipino designed handicrafts. Next he brought me to their spacious

backyard with trees where we had a lengthy talk of the work that lies ahead. From my DAAD

stipend, I stayed and rented the basement of the house of Prof. Krohn in the duration of my 3

months research visit. My rented place had a big comfortable bedroom with a double-sized

soft bed, a big TV on a large table and a shelf of books. It also had a well-furnished kitchen

where I did plenty of cooking and a large clean bathroom. Odile regularly provided me with

towels. The bedroom, kitchen and bathroom have windows that presented a view of the

scenic Brchen neighbourhood. My rented place in the basement had a separate entrance

with flight of stairs that go down to my front door. It was a nice place, with peaceful and

wonderful vicinity, very secure and most of all you feel so close to nature due to the abundant

trees and unique gardens full of colourful flowers and cute dwarves. The closest bus stop to

my rented place in Brchen was a 10 to 15 minutes walk away. In front of the bus stop across the street is ALDI, Germanys major chain of grocery stores, it was where I bought my foods,

my regular supply of Hohes C juice and other provisions on my way home from the

university. Odile prepared dinner for us and because of my exhaustion from the long trip went

to my soft and comfortable bed early in the evening. The following day while still experiencing

a jet lag, I woke up early and Prof. Krohn drove me to Paderborn University and instructed me

on the buses that I must take to reach the university located on the other side of the city. Prof.

Krohn woke up early and will always travelled to Paderborn University on his bike. It was so

remarkable of him to do so since I knew of no professors in Manila who will travel to their

respective universities on a bike. In Germany it is possible due to its safety and majority of

students do it every day on their way to school. In the citys downtown area, I bought a map

of Paderborn to guide me on my day to day travel and to get to know the city better. So each

day I took the bus which in Germany provided a very comfortable and quick ride to your

destination.

My laboratory Work in Paderborn University

The modern and fully equipped laboratory which Prof. Krohn headed is located in the

upper floors of a tall building. It also has many rooms and laboratories providing serious

research work to graduate students and technicians in the field of organic chemistry

specifically microbial natural products. You need to take the elevator to reach the department.

Prof. Krohn, being a Professor, has a big office for himself and he supervised several research

projects. He assigned me to one of his Ph.D. students named Natalia Root. Natalia is a pretty,

iron-willed and intelligent graduate student from the Ukraine working for her doctoral degree

in organic chemistry. In one of our coffee breaks, I vividly remembered discussing with Natalia

that I love the symphonic music of Modest Mussorgsky called Pictures at an Exhibition. The

grandiose music particularly the ending tells the tale of the witch: Baba Yaga flying in a mortar

through the great gate of Kiev, the capital City of Ukraine. I asked her if there is really a great

gate of Kiev and she said, there was exactly as what the music portrayed in all its glorious

notes.

Natalia was also a hardworking natural products chemist. After I produced my

fermentation broth cultures in several large Erlenmeyer flasks for many days, she guided me in

my purification work, partitioning my broth extract into the hexane and ethylacetate fractions.

The fractions were concentrated in their big and sophisticated rotary evaporator.

Subsequently, I assayed the numerous fractions for their antimicrobial activity in another

laboratory located in a neighbouring building. All the students were very bright, friendly and

accommodating. Aside from Natalia, there were two other Ph.D. students in the chemistry lab

where I was assigned by Prof. Krohn. There were other graduate students in other laboratories

which I got to know well during our daily 15 minute coffee breaks in the morning and

afternoon. Since there was no microbiology lab in the department of Prof. Krohn, he sent me

to another department where there was a small microbiology lab equipped with a small

autoclave, an incubator, a sturdy linear shaker, a biological cabinet and a refrigerator. Right

away, Prof. Krohn bought the culture media, chemicals and petri dishes that I told him I

needed for my research work. Since I will be doing antimicrobial assays, I also needed a

complete array of test microorganisms representing the microbial world. In the microbiology

lab, I was provided with two bacteria: Escherichia coli and Bacillus megaterium, gram-negative

and gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria respectively. To complete my test organisms, I believe

that I still needed a yeast and a filamentous fungus which they did not have in the

microbiology lab. So equipped with my knowledge of microbiology, I isolated my yeast:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Bakers Yeast which I bought from a local grocery store. The

fungus I obtained from the green mouldy bread which I got in my kitchen quite often, it is from

the genus called Penicillium. Finally my set of 4 test microorganisms is complete from bacteria

to fungi from prokaryotic to eukaryotic from unicellular to multicellular organisms. I did the

assay of my fractions as well as the fractions of some of Prof. Krohns graduate students in the

Microbiology Lab. One time, I felt so honoured when he made a surprise visit in the

Microbiology Lab and looked with much amazement at the results of my work particularly the

large inhibition zones that were produced by the assayed extracts against the test organisms

growing inside my agar plates. For Prof. Krohn, he usually did not see the results of the

antimicrobial assay of his fungal extracts nor the fungi themselves because the assay is done

by his microbiologist collaborators from another university which I believed was the Technical

University of Braunschweig (TUB).

Attached to this document is a published article of the research work that I completed in

Paderborn University. It was published in our universitys local but ISI listed and BIOSIS tracked

journal called Acta Manilana. In Manila in 2002, I was asked by the Director of the UST

Research Center for the Natural Sciences: Prof. Maribel G. Nonato, Ph.D. if I can write a paper

on the work that I did at Paderborn University and that I should also inform Prof. Krohn about

it. At first I was hesitant to write it and include Prof. Krohn as co-author for I thought that Prof.

Krohn with his high ranking papers might not allow himself to be the co-author in a simple

work that will be published in our local university journal. Again I was wrong, when I sent Prof.

Krohn the draft and informed him of its publication, he liked it, made some corrections and

gave his all-out go signal for me to include him as my co-author in the paper. I felt so privileged

and elated by Prof. Krohns reply. Incidentally, Prof. Krohn met Prof. Nonato when he visited

UST in 2001 and she tendered a dinner for the Krohns in one of the evenings they were in the

university.

In the Microbiology Lab, I met another German student called Thrsten, who was

pursuing his Diplom Arbeit comparable to a masteral thesis. His name is unique because I

vividly remember him said that the diminutive name for Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is

Thrsten. Indeed, in the movies if ever a boyish marvel hero for Thor will ever be made, he

must be named Thrsten. This naming system is like the Spanish diminution of a boy called

Miguelito and for a man called Miguel. He was my companion in the microbiology lab and he is

the friendliest and most accommodating student that I ever met in Paderborn University.

The Memorable Trip to Soest

One morning in the 26th of September 2000, Prof. Krohn took me to something out of the

ordinary. We travelled to lovely Soest, a nearby city to Paderborn, to attend the 3rd

Conference on Harmful and Beneficial Microorganisms in Grassland, Pasture and Turf. Soest is

located some way off to the southwest of Paderborn. We took the early morning train ride

which was so memorable for I took notice of Prof. Krohns peer-reviewing some papers for

publication in a journal. After looking at him with deep admiration, I asked him what the

verdict was for the paper and like a Roman Emperor he gave the thumbs down meaning the

paper was rejected for publication. If my memory served me right, I believe the paper was

from Mainz. Deep inside I pitied the corresponding author of the paper. Well thats how it is in

science I said to myself, you win some you lose some. Surely other journals will accept it for

publication. When we arrived in Soest, the weather was quite rainy in the morning but turned

warmly sunny in the afternoon on our way back to Paderborn. We somehow got lost on our

way to the conference venue so I remembered Prof. Krohn asking some help for direction

from a construction worker who we met along the way. He started with the German way of

starting a question with a stranger with the friendly shouts of Hallo! Hallo! I considered it a

very neat way of catching the attention of strangers. Prof. Krohn soon brought me to the

facade of a big and imposing church. He stretched out his right hand, touched the very walls of

the church and proudly described to me that the glistening green sandstone that makes up the

building is unique to the city of Soest. That was surely the exceptional feature of Soest that

stuck to my mind to this very day.

We finally reached the conference venue and it has already started. One of the speakers

named Barbara Schulz spoke perfect English with an American accent. With the exception of

Prof. Krohn and some who knew her, many of us were surprised as to how she can speak such

fluent American English. Subsequently, when she was asked by someone of her facility with

the English language and with an American accent, we found out that she was actually from

Ohio but stayed and worked in Germany when she married a German. That was when I got to

know Dr. Barbara Schulz, a busy and brilliant mycologist working as a researcher in the

Technical University of Braunschweig (TUB) and a closed research collaborator of Prof. Krohn.

Meeting Dr. Barbara Schulz Again in Braunschweig

The next time I met Dr. Barbara Schulz was in a more up, close and personal setting. That

was when Prof. Krohn asked me to bring some algal specimen to her in Braunschweig. Prof.

Krohn told me that he and Odille collected the algae from the coast in northern France. With

much excitement, I agreed to carry out the mission for it will be my chance to visit

Braunschweig again. Braunschweig was the first German city that I visited way back in 1988

during my ITP course at the GBF. During that time in 1988, I heard of TUB but never got the

chance to visit the university. So this time around, I can finally visit TUB. I believe that it was in

October 2000 when I travelled by train from Paderborn to Braunschweig to meet Barbara.

When I arrived in Braunschweig, English translation is Brunswick, I was amazed to see that the

train station has changed so much becoming more spacious and modern. Surely it was a big

improvement from 1988. Taking the bus I arrived in TUB, I looked for and found Barbara and

gave her the algae. Then, she gave me a tour of her lab devoted to mycology research and to

the biological assays she utilized in her work. The lab was impressive for the sophisticated

instruments and the extensive work that they are conducting on the production and

characterization of bioactive metabolites from endophytic fungi. It was during that visit to Dr.

Schulzs lab that I first came to know of endophytic fungi. After the long tour and discussion,

we both sat down in a bench facing the vibrant campus of TUB. That was when I found the

opportunity to ask her if she could accept Tom, a former student and a teaching colleague, to

pursue his Ph.D. in TUB. Tom was already in contact with a German Professor working with

photosynthetic bacteria for his PhD but unexpectedly the professor retired and Tom was left

hanging with no professor who can supervise him for his PhD. I vividly remembered that I was

so happy to hear Barbara said, Yes, if you recommend Tom we will take him in. The rest as

what they say is history for my former student: Thomas Edison dela Cruz, who is now the

current chairperson of the Department of Biological Sciences of UST. He became so popular

and won numerous awards for his pioneering research works on endophytic fungi in the

Philippines.

Late that afternoon, I thanked Barbara, bid her farewell and travelled back to Paderborn.

It was already dark when I arrived in Paderborn but it was well worth the long trip. It left me

with wonderful memories of the visit to Braunschweig and of Barbara and of the beautiful

German countryside. When I met Prof. Krohn I was so pleased to tell him that it was mission

accomplished. Moreover, I felt proud that I was able to successfully travel to Braunschweig

from Paderborn and back without getting lost and without encountering big problems along

the way.

Dr. Barbara Schulz giving a lecture and conducting a training course in mycology during her

visit to UST in 2011

In 2011, I was so pleased when Tom who already successfully earned a PhD from TUB

informed me that our beloved Barbara is coming over to the Philippines. OMG, I said to myself

it has been 10 long years since our unforgettable meeting in TUB way back in 2000. Tom was

able to arrange her visit to Manila in behalf of an invitation from the Philippine Society for

Microbiology (PSM) and he also secured a travel grant for her to conduct a one-week training

course in mycology in UST. She was invited to be one of the plenary speakers for the annual

convention of the Philippine Society for Microbiology (PSM) when it was held in Cagayan de

Oro. PSM is one of the biggest and the most prestigious life science organization in the

Philippines devoted to Microbiology.

In May 2011, Barbara who was Toms direct research adviser in TUB, arrived in Manila and

Tom booked her in a hotel that was located close to UST. He and his graduate students took

charged of entertaining and dining her out in the days of her arrival. On one of the weekdays

during Barbaras mycology training course in UST, I took charged this time of dining her out

with Tom, Dr. Alicia Aguinaldo, Dr. Cora Menguito and Dr. Emerita Simeon. Dr. Emerita Simeon

also met Prof. Krohn when he taught at UST in 2001. We went to a restaurant located in West

Avenue, Quezon City and talked about so many things which definitely included Prof. Krohn.

Barbara told us that Prof. Krohn has retired from his teaching post in Paderborn University and

has transferred residence from Brchen back to Braunschweig. When Prof. Krohn lived in Braunschweig years before Paderborn, he was actually teaching at TUB. With all the fun filled

but hot and humid moments in the Philippines, I am sure Barbara enjoyed so much her

unforgettable stay in the Philippines.

Barbara's training course was successfully conducted; it was so well attended by many

teachers and researchers from USTs neighbouring universities and research institutions. After

her training course, she flew to Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao to deliver her plenary lecture in

the annual convention of the Philippine Society for Microbiology (PSM). On her last day in

Manila after returning back from Cagayan de Oro, we gave her several packages of Philippine

dried mangoes which she like Prof. Krohn loved so much. I also gave her some packages of

dried mango for Prof. Krohn and Odile since the Krohns have already settled back in

Braunschweig at that time and that was where Barbara lived as well

From left: myself, Prof. Thomas Edison dela Cruz, PhD (Current Department Chairperson) and Asst. Prof.

Ma. Sheila de Jesus (Microbiology Coordinator) during a thesis defence last Feb. 2013.

Prof. Krohn made me so much at home in Germany, he brought me one Sunday to a

classical chamber music performance knowing that I love classical music especially from the

great German classical music composer: Johann Sebastian Bach. At Paderborn University, he

also invited me to listen to the lecture of a guest researcher: Dr. Kirst, an organic chemist from

the US Eli Lily Company. The lecture was on Erythromycin, Eli Lillys most successful and

number 1 commercial product and he also gave a lecture on a novel metabolite from a

Streptomyces species that exhibited insecticidal activity against mosquitoes. In the evening,

upon the invitation of Prof. Krohn, it was fortuitous for me to have joined them in that dinner

held at the Patio of the house of Prof. Krohn. That was when I personally met Dr. Kirst and his

wife both of which were special guests of the Krohns. It was fortuitous because the talk during

our dinner turned out to be quite controversial. I brought up the issue that the microbial

producer strain of Erythromycin which made Eli Lilly very rich actually came from the

Philippines yet not a single centavo returned back to the Philippines.

Prof. Krohn was proud of his birthplace in Schleswig Holstein in Northern Germany and

he also has high regards for the Philippines. I realized that he knows much about the

Philippines. There was one instance when I got into an argument with one of the German

students because he said that the Philippine islands were collectively very small compared to

Germany. When I told Prof. Krohn of this, he asked me to tell him who this student was.

Subsequently, he found out whom and he talked to the student and explained to him that the

Philippines is almost as big as Unified Germany and bigger than the whole of West Germany.

Well, I guess the student learned some lessons from an organic chemist in the field of world

geography! During weekends (Wochenende) and Long Thursdays (Langer Donnerstag), I would

usually go to the city to visit the churches and to do my grocery and at times, do some window

shopping in the numerous malls in Paderborn. The cathedral in Paderborn is large and looked

very sacred with its magnificent gothic architecture and many people attended mass in the

cathedral during Sundays unlike in other churches.

As November 2000 came, when the weather was getting much colder, I needed to wind

up my work and write a report of my research visit to Paderborn University and turn it in to

the DAAD. In the day of my departure from Germany, Prof. Krohn and Odille were out of town

and they cannot bring me to the airport. So they requested their friend which lived across

their house which I also got to know in one of our dinners to drive me to the Paderborn

Airport. This old friend of the Krohns told me once that for him, the Philippines is located on

the edge of the known world. He can surely say that again for in a way he was correct, to

Europeans the vast Pacific Ocean covering almost half the globe lies beyond the Philippine

archipelago. From Paderborn I flew to Frankfurt and while in Frankfurt something truly

unexpected happened. As I was strolling in one of the vast floors of the airport, someone

called me sir, sir. OMG, I said to myself only a former student of mine will call me sir. And I was

correct, he was a former BS Chemistry student of mine working with the large German

Company Bayer. Can you imagine, I was surprised to meet him in Germany among all so many

places back home in the Philippines. His name is Dante, he was with his group of company

employee and they were also on the same flight as mine back to Manila. With the support

from Bayer, they were flying first class and so I never met him again when we boarded our

Lufthansa plane and when we arrived in Manila. It was because first-class flyers get out of the

plane first. That flight was memorable because that was the first time I flew via Lufthansa

direct from Frankfurt to Manila. Before, there was usually a stopover in either Bangkok or

Singapore.

Prof. Krohn and Odile in UST, Manila; The Philippines

In the early part of 2001, I believe it was February, a teaching colleague and a close friend

of mine: Prof. Alicia Aquinaldo asked me if I know of a popular foreign chemist who can be

invited to be the plenary lecturer in the coming annual convention of the Natural Products

Society of the Philippines (NPSP). The annual convention of NPSP is always held in December.

Instantly, what came to my mind was Prof. Karsten Krohn since he worked with natural

products derived not from plants but from endophytic fungi. That will surely be a distinctive

moment for NPSP since all their prominent members were phytochemist (plant chemist).

When I mentioned this to Alice she immediately brightened up and agreed with much elation

that Prof. Krohn was indeed the best choice as plenary speaker for NPSP. Immediately we

started working and Alice and I coursed the formal invitation to the DAAD so that Prof. Krohn

could be given a travel grant. Again the rest is history; Prof. Krohn was awarded a travel grant

by DAAD which made me once more thankful to the DAAD for making possible his trip to the

Philippines. For its part, UST provided the Krohns with a 3-week accommodation at the Domus

Maria which is an exclusive in campus housing for the universitys visitors.

So in the first days of December 2001, Prof. Krohn and Odile arrived in Manila from

Frankfurt via Singapore Airlines. My twin brother and I with his van, fetched Prof. Krohn and

Odile at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Once again, I was so happy to see Prof. Krohn

and Odile in person but this time I cant believe that it was in Manila. My brother drove us

from the airport to UST, where Prof. Krohn and Odile stayed at the Domus Maria in-campus

Guest House. We arrived in UST at pass 10:00 PM and the lights of the campus were already

out, it was also so dark and 3 of 4 major gates were closed. Upon reaching their big and special

room accommodation in Domus Maria, they unpacked their luggage. Unexpectedly, Prof.

Krohn, like a typical German, inquired if we can go out and I meant out of the security of the

UST campus to buy some cold beers. OMG! I said to myself, the gate to P. Noval which is

closest to Domnus Maria was already closed and its very dark walking in the campus. But like

a gallant host I gave in to his request and accompanied Prof. Krohn out of the campus into the

quiet streets along P. Noval. With a foreigner beside me, I prayed hard that no harm should

befall us from criminal elements. The university guard let us out and luckily we were able to

buy cold beer in cans in one of the deserted sari-sari store that was still open at that time. In

haste we paid the beers and hurriedly returned back to the security inside the UST campus.

Prof. Krohn and I were so happy upon drinking the cold beer in their room and he was quite

impressed on the good quality of our local San Miguel beer. As a Filipino, I felt proud that a

very discriminating beer drinker like Prof. Krohn enjoyed our local San Miguel beer. Every now

and then, I dropped by at the Domus Maria to check is ok with them and to provide them

some provisions like bottled water, milk, snacks, toiletries and sundries. In the following days, I

fetched them after their breakfast and brought them to the College of Science to meet Prof.

Alicia Aguinaldo who was really responsible in making his trip to the Philippines possible. They

both enjoyed their first meeting and that was the start of a very fruitful academic

collaboration. As part of Prof. Krohns courtesy call, he also met the various academic officials

of the university namely Dean Gloria de Castro-Bernas, Dean Lilian J. Sison, Prof. Fortunato

Sevilla, Prof. Maribel G. Nonato and the respective chairpersons of each department like

Assoc. Prof. Milagros del Callar of the Biology Dept. and Prof. Cora Menguito of the Chemistry

Dept. Prof. Krohn stayed for 3 weeks in UST as a visiting professor. He taught Advanced

Organic Chemistry to a big class with tight daily schedule, morning and afternoon sessions, for

the Graduate School of UST for 2 weeks and spent the remaining week on an exclusive

vacation with Odile in the Matabunkay Beach Resort in the province of Batangas. A funny but

nerve-wracking incident happened according to Odile on their way to the Matabungkay Beach

Resort which lies to the south of Manila. After Prof. Krohns finished his course on Advanced

Organic Chemistry, he and Odile were ready to travel to Batangas to enjoy a one-week

vacation. Their trip to Matabungkay was booked through a famous hotel in Makati and from

that hotel they were to be brought to Matabungkay. One late afternoon when they were

about to leave UST on their way to the hotel in Makati, the Domus Maria guard unknown to

the Krohns thought that they were flying back to Germany and told their driver to take them

to the airport. In obedience to what the Guard told him, the driver drove their car fast to the

airport. Luckily Odile soon realized that they were being driven to the wrong place, she was

seeing wide open spaces instead of the tall and crowded buildings of cities. She said that the

place they were brought into was typical of the wide areas of an airport. Instantly the

frightened Odile tried talking with the driver that they were supposed to go to Makati and not

to the airport. The driver noticed his mistake, turned around and brought the Krohns to

Makati in the nick of time. Prof. Krohn and Odile reached Matabungkay and both truly enjoyed

their one week vacation together truly on their own. They must have known and booked for

the Matabungkay Beach Resort while they were still in Germany.

One of Prof. Krohns students named Allan Patrick Macabeo in the advanced organic

chemistry class who was also a former student and thesis advisee of Prof. Alice Aguinaldo was

able to complete his PhD in organic chemistry in Regensburg. According to Prof. Krohn, Allan

was best student in his class. After finishing his PhD, Allan together with Prof. Aguinaldo and

Prof. Krohn went on a collaborative research work and many of their results were published in

some of the good journals in the field of Natural Products Chemistry.

The Krohns and I in Nayong Pilipino

On their first Sunday in Manila, I was privileged to have volunteered of taking the Krohns

out for their dining and entertainment. I decided to bring them to a famous park known as

Nayong Pilipino. This theme park when it was still in existence in 2001 gave a grand overview

of the different provinces of the Philippines and their unique cultures. So in one afternoon, it

was like the Krohns visited all the major provinces of the entire Philippines. We happily moved

from exhibits to exhibits of the different provinces relishing their cultures, costumes, dances,

souvenir items and their food specialties. After Nayong Pilipino, I brought them to my rented

condominium in the 30th floor of the Espana Tower which was a 15 minutes ride to UST. From

the height of my rented room, they saw a grand view of the Sampaloc municipality, UST and

far on to Manila Hotel and of course the famous Manila Bay. We settled down and took a light

snack that I prepared for them which I believed was Spaghetti Bolognese. In the following

week days, it was the turn of the other academic officials to bring Prof. Krohn and Odile for

dinner. So the Krohns were introduced to various Filipino cuisines and cultures associated with

the various well known Filipino restaurants. Prof. Krohn remembered happily the night, Prof.

Lilian J. Sison, Dean of the Graduate School and Prof. Fortunato Sevilla, Assistant to the Rector

for Research brought them to a restaurant in the Luneta National Park where you see and

choose the live fishes and lobsters from aquaria that you can have for dinner. Prof. Krohn

enjoyed that special restaurant very much because you first get to see live what you will have

for dinner. During daytime while Prof. Krohn was holding classes, my younger teaching

colleagues: Thomas Edison dela Cruz and Mike Valdez, both are now PhD holders from

Germany and my other co-teachers and their students entertained Odile. They brought her in

the various parks and luxurious shopping malls found in Manila. Odile got upset when I told

her once not to go out of the UST campus alone because being a lone foreigner can make her a

target for pickpockets or snatchers. One time, I remembered her proudly telling me that no

harm came to her went she went out alone of the campus and explored the surrounding

streets of UST. A day before Prof. Krohn and Odile ended their visit to the Philippines, I

brought them to Makati. This neighbouring City of Manila is the Philippines most opulent and

famous business district. Together we dined in one of the best restaurants in Glorietta and we

talked about their wonderful experience in the Philippines. I gave them their special sweet

snack to be brought to Germany which were several boxes of dried mangoes. According to

Prof. Krohn which he mentioned to me several times, the Philippine mangoes are the best in

the world for its unique and wonderful aroma, texture and sweetness. I also told them to

share with their friendly neighbour some of their mangoes, the one who I met several times

and who drove me to the airport on my departure day in Paderborn.

Indeed, the Natural Products Society of the Philippines (NPSP) was deeply honoured by

the plenary lecture delivered by Prof. Krohn on bioactive microbial secondary metabolites

from fungi. The single day annual convention was held in the newly built Thomas Aquinas

Research Complex in UST and many students and academics from other universities

participated as well. During the convention, Sofia McFarland, the reporter from the Far

Eastern Economic Review (FEER) of the Asia-Pacific Young Inventors Awards was also around

to interview Prof. Krohn regarding me and my invention on the use of paper-disc immobilized

microbial bioluminescence for the simple and rapid detection of toxicants in drinking water.

Sofia found the opportunity to interview the very busy Prof. Krohn at around lunchtime of the

convention. Since the convention was held in the special month of December which was also

Christmastime, a cold wonderful weather was at hand. There were many festivities and

merriment that were readily apparent in the Philippines during this time of the year. The

Philippines is a country proud of its longest Christmas celebration in the world. Prof. Krohn and

Odile had plenty of fun attending the various Christmas parties held in the different

departments and units of the university. Indeed, it was so auspicious that the Krohns came

over to the Philippines in the month of December. We all enjoyed the singing and foods

aplenty and the exchanging of gifts typical of Christmas parties.

Christmas Time with the Krohns in UST

As Christmas day approached quickly, Prof. Krohn and Odile left for Germany in one early

morning during a Misa de Gallo held at the UST Grandstand just beside Domus Maria. In the

Philippines, the Misa de Gallo constitute the nine days early morning masses starting on Dec

16 and ending on December 25. They flew back to Germany a few days before Christmas day.

How I wished they could still have stayed in the Philippines till December 25 but I guessed that

will be selfish on my part for they also need to be with their families, their children on

Christmas day. Years after in 2005, Prof. Alicia Aguinaldo through a travel grant from the

French Embassy in Manila attended a chemistry conference held in France which was

organized and attended by Prof. Krohn himself. Prof. Aguinaldo told me that Prof. Krohn and

Odile were so kind to have invited her and a group of Japanese chemists to stay with them in

their house in northern France. They were provided their own rooms and had the chance to

enjoy the very best of the way of life in the French countryside. She told me that it was a

wonderful and unique experience for her to have enjoyed the hospitality of the Krohns in

France.

Dr. Alice Aguinaldo wearing her academic regalia in one of the commencement exercises at UST.

The Very Sad News

After sometime, we heard that Prof. Krohn had retired from his academic posts at

Paderborn University and settled back in Braunschweig. Prof. Aguinaldo and I were also

informed that Prof. Krohn somehow fell ill and then we heard the bad news recently from

Odile that Prof. Krohn passed away. The news was followed early this year, by a formal card

from Odile and a short letter containing the date of the passing away of Prof. Krohn.

Indeed, I became despondent and was filled with utter sadness when I heard that Prof.

Krohn passed away for I know that I will miss him profoundly. Though Prof. Krohn was able to

retire from his academic responsibilities before his death, it was still a time too soon for him to

pass away at an early age of 69. Because of the high standard of living in Western Europe,

many Germans lived to be in their 80s or even 90s. Prof. Aquinaldo, Allan and myself decided

to buy a special mass card in the UST Chapel for Prof. Krohn and sent it promptly to Odile. As

Catholics, we prayed for the granting of eternal rest and the shining of perpetual light on Prof.

Karsten Krohn in his afterlife. There was a time before his death, when I was so happy to see

his Facebook entry. We both befriended each other but he did not anymore answer some of

my Facebook questions and greetings I sent him. It made me feel somewhat saddened for he

was not the Prof. Krohn that I knew who will immediately answer back. In fact when I sent him

a photo of my first bioluminescence illuminated Christmas Tree in history in November 2007,

he gave a very long, encouraging and jolly feedback.

In closing, I am thinking of the wonderful times we spent together in Germany in 2000

and in the Philippines in 2001. On the lighter side, I tried to remember the smiles and laughter

of Prof. Krohn and his reassuring fatherly presence whenever we travel together. We, here in

UST, the academics he touched, will always be thankful of the numerous blessings that we

received for having known him in person. In fact, I heard last week from Prof. Aguinaldo who I

met accidentally in the corridor of the College of Science that the research visit of the current

chairperson of the Department of Chemistry: Dr. Mario Tan to Dsseldorf late last year in 2013 was from the recommendation of Prof. Krohn.

We will always cherish the wonderful moments we spent with Prof. Krohn for he moved

our hearts with his charming attitude and for contributing to a superb change to our life in the

academe. I dont think we will meet another scientist like Prof. Krohn for he is truly one of a

kind in being a bright, charming, helpful and dedicated organic chemist who is ever so willing

to extend his helping hands to others. His numerous students and thesis advisees who now

occupy strategic positions in teaching and research institutions in various parts of the world

and his foreign research collaborators will continue to carry on his lasting and unique legacy of

what it was like to work with Prof. Krohn in advancing the knowledge of natural products

chemistry. His published papers in various well-known journals will continue to be cited in

various scientific literatures by other researchers and will endure in inspiring future

generations of brilliant students to pursue a profession in chemistry and to specialize by way

of a PhD in the field of microbial natural products chemistry.

Vielen Dank Prof. Dr. Karsten Krohn, wir werden Sie ganz vermissen