With great dismay and deep sadness his friends and colleagues received the news that Karl-Siegfried Boos passed away on October 6, 2014 shortly after his 66th birthday. His obituary contains the following words by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke:

Wenn ihr mich sucht, sucht mich in euren Herzen. Habe ich dort eine Bleibe gefunden, lebe ich in euch weiter.

If you seek me, then seek me in your hearts. If I have found a home there, I will live on in you.

Karl-Siegfried Boos was born September 18, 1948 in Rastatt/Baden, Germany. He studied biochemistry at the Technical University of Hannover and received his diploma in 1974. From 1975 he worked on his Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of Professor Eckhard Schlimme and Professor Walther Lamprecht at the Department of Biochemistry, University Medical School, Hannover. After receiving his degree of Dr. rer. nat. in 1977 he spent one and a half years as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Ralph G. Yount at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA. He rejoined Professor Schlimme as an assistant at the University of Paderborn in the Laboratory for Biochemical Chemistry and became “Privatdozent” in 1984. Between 1985 and 1990 he was head of the Laboratory for Biological Chemistry at the University of Paderborn and in 1987 was appointed Professor of Biological Chemistry. Since 1990 he was head of the Laboratory of Bioseparation at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Medical Center of the University of Munich, Munich, Germany. In 1994 he received the degree Dr. rer. biol. hum. habil. from the Medical Faculty and was appointed Professor of Experimental Clinical Chemistry.

The initial research of Karl-Siegfried Boos focused on the synthesis and evaluation of modified nucleotides as molecular probes in energy transducing biosystems such as membrane transport and oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria or photophosphorylation in chloroplasts. Since 1985 his research activities shifted to the preparation and application of chemically and enzymatically modified stationary phases [restricted access materials (RAM) and molecular imprinted polymers (MIP)] for LC-integrated sample processing and analysis of marker molecules in biological fluids for therapeutic drug monitoring and biological monitoring as well as to the development of fully automated, multidimensional separation methods bioanalysis. He also had a major interest in the design, synthesis and application of biocompatible adsorbents for the selective gastrointestinal and extracorporeal elimination of toxic compounds in humans by oral dosage and on-line adsorption apheresis. Furthermore, he developed fully automated systems for the analysis of drugs and endogenous compounds in whole blood.

Professor Boos is author and co-author of more than 120 papers in the fields of analytical chemistry, biochemistry and human medicine and holds several national and international patents. He was a well-known lecturer in seminars, workshops and tutorials at international conferences especially on the topic of bioanalysis. He has been a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of the Journal of Chromatography B and the Journal of High Resolution Chromatography. Between 2000 and 2010 he was co-editor of Chromatographia. In 1995 he received the Hewlett-Packard Award for Advances in Automated Sample Preparation.

Karl-Siegfried Boos was a modest and friendly person. In his professional as well as private life he was a dependable friend and colleague who was highly respected by everybody. Those who were fortunate enough to know him more closely always enjoyed his inspirational, joyful and lively personality. Remembering the numerous workshops, seminars and tutorials we attended and presented together we now fully realize the great impact he had on his students and colleagues during these presentations. Especially, the passionate and interactive way he used to convey his message on clinical analytical methodologies is something we will remember for a long time. He was not only trying to convince his audience that the automated procedures he so strongly believed in were the only way to go, but he also wanted to provide a philosophy of life for the students. Not only during the presentations, but also late in the evening, sitting on a terrace or next to a swimming pool on the island of Elba, he was still trying to convince his co-presenters of the things he lived for. As Editor of Chromatographia he was always talking with people to explain to them why our journal was the proper stage for the submission of papers related to bio-analytical and clinical analysis, which was one of his main passions.

The more stunned we are by this sudden loss. The scientific community, especially his colleagues and friends will miss his knowledge, advice and wisdom. We offer his family the expression of our heart-felt sympathy.