Peter K. Schuster (born 7 March 1941) is a theoretical chemist known for his work with the German Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen in developing the quasispecies model. His work has made great strides in the understanding of viruses and their replication, as well as theoretical mechanisms in the origin of life. Biography Schuster was born in Vienna, Austria and graduated with highest honors from "gymnasium". He studied chemistry and physics at the University of Vienna and earned his PhD in 1967. He was a Postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Together with Eigen, Schuster developed the quasispecies model. He is full professor of theoretical chemistry at the University of Vienna, the founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Jena, Germany, as well as the current head of its Department of Molecular Evolutionary Biology. He is an external faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute. Currently, Prof. Schuster is the President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Honours and awards 1971: Theodor Körner promotion price 1971: Jubilee Award of the Chemical-Physical Society 1983: Erwin Schrödinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences 1989: Dr. Asen Zlatarov price of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 1993: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art 1993: Member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina 1995: Philip Morris Research Prize 1995: Josef Loschmidt Medal of the Austrian Chemical Society 1997: City of Vienna Prize for Science 1997: Cardinal Innitzer Prize for Science 1999: Wilhelm Exner Medal of the Austrian Trade Association. 2010: Great Silver Medal for Service to the City of Vienna See also What is Life? (Schrödinger) References External links Schuster's personal homepage at the University of Vienna Curriculum vitae Interview regarding Cardinal Schönborn's statement on evolution Schuster's Profile from Santa Fe Institute 1941 births Living people 20th-century Austrian people 21st-century Austrian people 20th-century biologists 21st-century biologists Austrian agnostics Theoretical biologists Austrian biologists Scientists from Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Santa Fe Institute people Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina