Personal memories and anecdotes

Below are a number of contributions from friends and colleagues of Wolfgang. If you would like to contribute something, please write to wolfgang.weisser[at]tum.de

Ulrich Schwörer

I met Wolfgang Völkl at a seminar he gave on behavioral ecology at the University of Bayreuth in 1995. His dedication and passion, his deep knowledge and his knack for simple and pragmatic approaches caught my attention and ultimately sparked my enthusiasm for this work. Luckily I was able to join his team and he became my supervisor for both my diploma and PhD theses. I greatly benefited from him personally and professionally. He was a very patient and dedicated teacher, always shared in great detail what he knew, and through him I met many more outstanding scientists and people from whom I had the luck to learn. Wolfgang supported my scientific and intellectual growth, and he taught me elementary lessons of and for life. Some of his most memorable qualities to me were his love for his family, his passion for his homeland and its nature, and his courage to follow his own steps. He was a very proud dad and shared with me at least every Monday morning stories about what his sons Johannes and Matthias had experienced and achieved over the weekend.
Wolfgang left his mark on my life as on many others, and I'm very thankful for what he brought into my life.

Ulrich Schwörer, 22.8.2016