Obituary Om Prakash Garg

12.10.2021

Deeply saddened and very sad, the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials takes leave of Om Prakash Garg. He passed away on September 7, 2021 at the age of 90. With him, the DWI loses a good friend and long-time ally. Until his old age, it was important to him to promote young talents from all over the world.

Om Prakash Garg was born in India in 1930. He later moved to Germany. Here he studied chemistry in Aachen and Heidelberg, financing his studies with several part-time jobs. During his studies, he met the protein chemist Prof. Dr. Helmut Zahn, the first director of the German Wool Research Institute. Zahn became his mentor, supported and financed his PhD project at the German Wool Research Institute. After completing his doctorate, Dr. Om Prakash Garg worked in the chemical industry for several years before starting his own business selling gift items and becoming a very successful businessman.

To support young, talented scientists and in honor of his parents Basant Kumari Devi and Chakkanlal Garg as well as his doctoral supervisor Professor Dr. Helmut Zahn, he established the Garg Foundation in 1994. The foundation supports young talents at the DWI by awarding scholarships. Since its establishment, more than a hundred young people from all over the world have been supported to start their doctoral thesis or a research project at the DWI. 

Among others, Dr. Khosrow Rahimi, DWI Project Manager, owes his scientific career to Prakash Garg: "I was very saddened to hear about Prakash Garg's death. I am sincerely honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Garg Fellowship in April-June 2013, which allowed me to pursue my academic career as a postdoctoral fellow at RWTH Aachen University. During this time, I had the pleasure to interact with many scientists from RWTH and Forschungszentrum Jülich as well as the DWI Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials. My respect and best wishes go to the Garg family."

Om Prakash Garg will be buried in October at Bergstedt Cemetery in Hamburg. 

We will always honor Om Prakash Garg's memory. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and friends. 

For the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials

Prof. Stefan Hecht, PhD, Scientific Director
T.D. Thanh Nguyen, Administrative Director
Prof. Dr. Andreas Herrmann, Vice Scientific Director