Merits in the History of Biology

The two biology didactics experts Prof. Dr Uwe Hoßfeld and Dr Karl Porges, together with the science historian Stefan Lux, received the Ilse Jahn Honorary Award from the German Society for the History and Theory of Biology (DGGTB). The award was presented to the three scientists from Friedrich Schiller University Jena on 1 July following the 32^nd Annual Conference of the DGGTB, which was held at the Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Science at the University of Jena. The motto of the annual conference was "Old wine in new bottles? Tendencies and trends in the History of Biological Sciences."

History of biology as a component of specialised didactics

In the laudatory speech for the three scientists, it was emphasised that they succeeded in organising the DGGTB's annual conference at the University of Jena in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024 in challenging times. In addition, the publications „Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie“ and "Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology" have succeeded in making the University of Jena and the history of science visible nationwide and internationally. The cooperation initiated with teacher training institutions has had a particularly positive effect. The aim of making the history of biology part of the didactics of the subject is a hopeful impulse for securing the history of science in terms of content and personnel. Dr Karl Porges, as the new chair of the German Society for the History and Theory of Biology, will continue along this path.

The German Society for the History and Theory of Biology was founded in 1991 with the aim of promoting research into and communication of the History and Theory of Biology. With the help of events and publications, it aims to facilitate scientific exchange between members, institutions focussing on similar topics and young interested scientists in order to raise social awareness of the scientific foundations of today's understanding of Biology.

Prize named after the Grande Dame of European biological history

The Ilse Jahn Honour Award is named after the Grande Dame of European biological history Ilse Jahn (1922 - 2010). Ilse Jahn decided to study biology in Jena in 1941, which she gave up after three semesters. In 1952, she resumed her studies in Jena, specialising in applied entomology. In 1954, she became an assistant at the Ernst Haeckel House, where, together with Georg Uschmann, she presented the History of Biology in Jena for the upcoming 400^th anniversary of the university in 1958. Her "History of Botany in Jena from the founding of the University to the appointment of Pringsheim (1558 - 1864)" earned her a doctorate in 1963. The year before, Ilse Jahn had already moved to the Alexander von Humboldt Commission of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Her next stop was the Berlin Museum of Natural History, where she worked as curator and head of the Zoological Museum's display collection. In 1979 and 1980, Ilse Jahn set out the theoretical foundations of natural history museology as a teaching and research discipline in "Neue Museumskunde" and in 1980 she was appointed the first lecturer in the new field. During a period of literary production from 1982 onwards, her main work "History of Biology" was published by Gustav Fischer-Verlag Jena, as well as "Grundzüge der Biologiegeschichte" in 1990 as a summarised presentation for teaching purposes. In 2002, Ilse Jahn was awarded an honorary doctorate by her academic home faculty in Jena.