astronomy

Michael Melkonian

Michael Melkonian is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael Melkonian rather than just read about it. In short: Michael Melkonian (born 1948) is a German botanist and phycologist. He was a professor of botany at the University of Cologne from 1988 to 2017.

Key takeaways

Michael Melkonian belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael Melkonian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael Melkonian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael Melkonian (born 1948) is a German botanist and phycologist. He was a professor of botany at the University of Cologne from 1988 to 2017. He is currently a senior professor of phycology at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Early life and education Michael Melkonian was born in 1948 in Hamburg. He earned his bachelor's degree in botany at the University of Hamburg in 1974. He received a doctorate in Botany with a focus in plant physiology in 1978 from the University of Hamburg.

Career From 1978 to 1988 Melkonian was an Assistant Professor to the Botany Department at the University of Münster. In 1982, he was a visiting assistant professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. From 1986–1988 he was a Heisenberg Fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG). In 1988, he moved to the University of Cologne as a full professor and Chair of the Botany department. In 2001 Melkonian became the Director of the Central Collection of Algal Cultures (CCAC). Melkonian became a Professor Emeritus in 2017. In 2019, he became a Senior Professor of Phycology at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Melkonian played a role in establishing multiple phycological societies in Europe, including organizing the first European Phycological Congress and encouraging the founding of the Hellenic Phycological Society. Melkonian holds 16 patents and is a co-founder of Algenion GmbH & Co. KG, an algal biotech company.

Research Melkonian's research primarily focuses on microalgae and has researched specific areas including cell biology, systematics and evolution, and the development of biotechnologies. He has published more than 240 refereed research papers and book articles, edited several books, including the Handbook of Protoctista (1990). He also authored German textbooks including General Botany (1974, 1984) and Illustrated Guide to Freshwater Algae (2004, 2012). Melkonian studied the structure, function and development of the flagellar apparatus in algae and co-discovered several centrosomal proteins novel for eukaryotes (e.g. centrin, SF-assemblin). He further provided evidence that flagellar development in unicellular eukaryotes extends over more than one cell cycle generating flagella with different functions in the same cell. Through the study of the biogenesis of extracellular scales in green algae led to the revival of the cisternal maturation model of intra-Golgi apparatus. Studies on the eyespot apparatus of green algae led to the identification of the photoreceptor channelrhodopsin. Melkonian also studied the systematics, diversity and evolution of algae with emphasis on green algae, cryptophytes, and euglenophytes but also heterotrophic protists, such as the Picozoa. Molecular phylogenetic analyses helped to identify the flagellate Mesostigma as the earliest divergence in the Streptophyta and the Zygnematophyceae as the likely sister group to the embryophyte land plants. Melkonian also worked on early research understanding the cercozoan photosynthetic amoeba Paulinella chromatophora, which has an independently evolved chloroplast called a chromatophore, and is an important example for the evolution of endosymbiotic organelles.

Additionally, his group developed a novel technique to grow microalgae at technical scale immobilized on Twin-Layers.

Activity in International Organizations 1992–1994 - President, International Society for Evolutionary Protistology 1993–1994 - Vice-President, British Phycological Society 1996 - Organizer of the First European Phycological Congress 2002–2004 - President, International Phycological Society 2011–2012 - Vice-President, International Society of Protistologists 1998–present - Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Protist

Academic Memberships 2003 - elected as a Corresponding Member of the Botanical Society of America 2014 - Honorary Member, Hellenic Phycological Society

Awards 1984 - Biology Prize, Göttingen Academy of Sciences 2004 - Fritz Schaudinn Award for the best original paper published during 2002 and 2003 in the journal Protist 2014 - Hans-Adolf von Stosch Medal, Section of Phycology (German Botanical Society), for outstanding service to Phycology in Germany

Selected books Algal Cell Motility Allgemeine Botanik. Nach einer Vorlesung von H. Drawert Handbook of Protoctista: The Structure, Cultivation, Habitats and Life Histories of the Eukaryotic, Microorganisms and Their Descendants Exclusive O (The Jones and Bartlett series in life sciences) Der Kosmos-Algenführer

References

External links Publication list 1975-2014

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael Melkonian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael Melkonian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael Melkonian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael Melkonian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael Melkonian

In research: Michael Melkonian appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael Melkonian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael Melkonian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, 20th-century German botanists, Academic staff of the University of Cologne, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael Melkonian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael Melkonian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael Melkonian means in your own words.
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Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Michael Melkonian in simple terms?

Michael Melkonian (born 1948) is a German botanist and phycologist. He was a professor of botany at the University of Cologne from 1988 to 2017.

Why does Michael Melkonian matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael Melkonian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael Melkonian.