death_place death_date birth_place nationality birth_date spouse article_title name occupation
falmouth , massachusetts , usa 18 august 1979 lima , peru german 17 may 1902 clara ostendorf 1932 1979 hans gaffron
 hans gaffron chemist biological researcher .
hans gaffron

dr. hans gaffron was born in lima , peru , on may 17 , 1902 , and was a son of the german physician `` eduard gaffron '' and his wife `` hedwig von gevekot '' .
he was one of the earlier researchers trying to elucidate the mechanistic and biochemical details of photosynthesis and plant metabolism .
his most notable finding was the discovery of a process whereby unicellular green algae can produce molecular hydrogen -lrb- h2 -rrb- in the presence of light , and that the precursors were derived from photosynthetic water-splitting .
applications based on his work have led to many efforts to develop h2 as a renewable biofuel .
