Peter K. Schuster | |
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Born |
March 7, 1941 (age 75) Vienna, Austria |
Residence | Austria |
Nationality | Austrian |
Fields | Theoretical Biochemistry |
Institutions | University of Vienna |
Alma mater | Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry |
Doctoral students | Martin Nowak |
Known for | Theory of molecular evolution |
Peter K. Schuster (born March 7, 1941) is a theoretical chemist known for his work with the German Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen in developing the quasispecies model. His work has made great strides in the understanding of viruses and their replication, as well as theoretical mechanisms in the origin of life.
Schuster was born in Vienna, Austria and graduated with highest honors from "gymnasium". He studied chemistry and physics at the University of Vienna and earned his PhD in 1967. He was a Postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Together with Eigen, Schuster developed the quasispecies model. He is full professor of theoretical chemistry at the University of Vienna, the founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Jena, Germany, as well as the current head of its Department of Molecular Evolutionary Biology. He is an external faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute. Currently, Prof. Schuster is the President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.