November 11, 2011 | News | Obituary

Reinhard Nuthmann passed away

Dr. Reinhard Nuthmann passed away in Berlin on Friday, 4 November 2011 at the age of 69 after serious illness. He gained lasting recognition in helping to develop the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. As Chief Research Coordinator, a position he held from 1997 to 2004, he played a central role in setting up and establishing the Institute, helping to shape a promising new beginning to demography and its institutionalization in Germany after World War II.

Apart from a general commitment to finance the Institute, there was little in place when Reinhard Nuthmann arrived in Rostock. By the time he left the Max Planck Institute, the situation had fundamentally changed: His engagement had been essential in establishing a highly efficient and well-functioning administrative structure and in building a new home to the Institute at the banks of the river Warnow. He also played a pivotal role in the Institute having become a firm, integral part of academic life in Germany and the Hanseatic City of Rostock. Notably, it is not least thanks to his engagement that the Institute has been maintaining strong and trusted relationships with the University of Rostock ever since the inception of the Institute. But his work in Rostock was not limited to the Institute. Combining his cultural interests with his organizational talents, he was actively involved in the Society of Friends and Sponsors of Volkstheater Rostock ("Freunde und Förderer Volkstheater Rostock"). With a doctoral degree in sociology, Reinhard Nuthmann returned to research the last years before his retirement, working in 2005 and 2006 as a research scientist for the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.

In appreciation of his service, the directors, James W. Vaupel and Joshua R. Goldstein, the emeritus director Jan Hoem, and the staff of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research remember with gratitude and affection the contributions and person of Reinhard Nuthmann, and our sympathy goes out to family and relatives.