15/11/2019 | The staff of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) mourn the loss of their colleague Dieter Peterke. The chemical laboratory assistant died on 30 October. Dieter Peterke had been employed at ZMT's chemistry laboratory for 20 years. He joined ZMT in 1999 as part of the 'MADAM' research project and supported the scientists in their research in Brazil, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Costa Rica, among others, and also accompanied expeditions on the FS Meteor and the FS Polarstern.
Since 2013, he had been a member of the ZMT Works Council, which he also chaired for a period of time. In this role, he was responsible for labour law, data protection and professional integration management (BEM).
In his spare time, Dieter Peterke was an avid photographer. He regularly exhibited his pictures in galleries and cafés in Bremen, Twistringen and Worpswede. In 2015 he took part in and subsequently won the inaugural Bremen Fotomarathon. The following year he was a member of the competion’s jury, together with representatives from the Hafenmusuem, the Kunsthalle and other photographers from Bremen. Dieter Peterke also used his photographic talent to take pictures for ZMT.
The management of the institute – Prof. Dr. Hildegard Westphal and Dr. Nicolas Dittert – praised Dieter Peterke as an extraordinarily helpful person. “We are painfully touched and deeply shaken. The world has lost an upright and loving person. Dieter Peterke was highly competent and broadly positioned in his area of responsibility. As a member and chair of the works council, he was always an exciting dialogue partner in finding the best possible solutions for ZMT. Dieter will be remembered by all of us as a dear friend and colleague whom we will very much miss,” said the directors.