Obituary Fumio Oosawa 1922–2019

Abstract

AbstractProf. Fumio Oosawa passed away in Nagoya on March 4, 2019, at the age of 96. As two of his former students we, like a great many scientists both in Japan and around the world, were much inspired and influenced by him. We have, at the request of the journal, penned this note to describe some of his major scientific contributions and also provide the readers of Biophysical Reviews with an idea of the remarkable personality and character traits that he displayed throughout his life. Fumio Oosawa (or Oosawa-san as he preferred to be called) was a physicist who initially entered the area of biophysics through studies in the field of condensed matter phenomena. Although a remarkable human being, he was, first and foremost, one of the leading scientists of his generation, making many original contributions that could, by any measure, be described as scientific breakthroughs. Therefore, before providing a short biography of his life in and around science, we thought it most appropriate to begin this Letter by first summarizing his major scientific contributions.