1943-

German chemist who received the 1988 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, which he shared with Robert Huber and Hartmut Michel. Deisenhofer contributed to the understanding of photosynthesis, the transformation of sunlight into energy in plants. Using x-ray crystallography and advanced mathematical calculations to interpret the x-ray pattern, Deisenhofer, Huber, and Michel detailed the complete atomic structure of the photosynthetic reaction center. Their work provided new insight into the process of photosynthesis and revitalized its study.