The Faculty of Natural Sciences sadly announces the passing of Professor Dr. Helmut Wilhelm Walter Krug.
Professor Krug held the position of University Professor at the then Institute of Vegetable Production at the former Technical University of Hannover – now Leibniz University Hannover – until his retirement in 1991.
Following his studies at Humboldt University of Berlin, where he graduated in 1954 with a degree as Diplom-Gärtner, he began his academic career as a research assistant at the Institute of Crop and Plant Production, Department of Fruit Production, at the University of Rostock. He subsequently moved to the Federal Research Centre for Agriculture in Braunschweig-Völkenrode, where he completed his doctorate (Dr rer. hort.) at the Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at the Technical University of Hannover in 1959.
This was followed by positions including Head of the Physiology Division at the Institute of Plant Production and Seed Research at the same research centre, a visiting scientist at the Plant Pioneering Research Laboratory of the Plant Industry Station in Beltsville, USA, and, in 1963, his habilitation at the Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at the Technical University of Hannover, as well as further appointments in Berlin.
In 1969, he accepted a professorship in Vegetable Production at the Technical University of Hannover. Professor Krug’s principal research areas included biomathematical modelling, developmental physiology (light, temperature, CO₂, nitrogen fertilisation), energy efficiency in greenhouse production, and the use of climate chambers in crop research—fields he shaped significantly until his retirement in 1991. From 1973 to 1976, Professor Krug served as Dean of the then Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. In 1992, he took on the role of Founding Director of the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ) in Großbeeren/Erfurt, now part of the Leibniz Association. He remained closely involved with the institute as Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board until 1995.
With his passing, we lost a highly esteemed, dedicated researcher and academic teacher. We will honour his memory and always remember his work with gratitude. Our condolences are with his family.
