Prof. Herman Johan Christiaan Berendsen was a pioneering computational chemist and one of the founding fathers of modern computational chemistry who transformed molecular simulation methodologies. Born on September 22, 1934, in Apeldoorn, he earned his physics degree from Utrecht University in 1957 before completing military service in the Royal Dutch Navy. Following a research associate position at MIT from 1959 to 1961 where he was introduced to nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, he joined the University of Groningen in 1961 and earned his PhD in 1962 with a thesis on collagen hydration. Appointed lecturer in physical chemistry in 1963, he became a full professor in 1967 and established the Biophysical Chemistry group that pioneered interdisciplinary approaches to molecular science.
Berendsen made seminal contributions to the field of molecular dynamics simulations, developing key algorithms that underpin modern dynamic simulation techniques used across chemistry and biology. His most enduring achievement was the creation of the GROMACS software suite and associated force fields, which remains one of the major molecular simulation packages used worldwide by researchers studying protein structure and behavior in aqueous solutions. His work spanned exceptional breadth, connecting mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and medical applications through a unified computational framework. Berendsen's research on microscopic water properties and molecular interactions fundamentally transformed our understanding of biomolecular systems and established computational approaches as essential tools in modern chemistry.
The Berendsen Center for Multiscale Modeling and Material Design at the University of Groningen stands as a testament to his enduring influence, continuing his interdisciplinary approach across quantum mechanics to continuum methods for materials design. In 2013, he received the prestigious Berni J. Alder CECAM Prize, recognizing his exceptional contributions to the microscopic simulation of matter throughout his career. Colleagues and students consistently noted his exceptional didactic qualities and contagious enthusiasm that inspired generations of computational scientists across multiple disciplines. Though he passed away in 2019, his methodological innovations continue to shape research in drug discovery, materials science, and biophysics worldwide, with GROMACS remaining a cornerstone tool for molecular simulation more than two decades after its development.
