Rolf Borchert

Ph.D., University of Frankfurt, 1961

We are saddened by the passing of Dr. Rolf Borchert on November 23, 2017.  Rolf was a professor of plant ecophysiology in the Biology Division from 1968-2002, and Chaired the department of Physiology and Cell Biology, a predecessor of the Molecular Biosciences department.  Before arriving at KU, Rolf was faculty at Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia from 1962-1968, where he became interested in how plants in the tropics, which experience limited seasonal temperature variation, respond to seasons of drought in terms of growth and flowering. At KU, he continued publishing in this area, and carried out field work in Costa Rica. He led undergraduate KU Study Abroad programs in Bonn, Germany, and San Jose, Costa Rica, and spent sabbaticals in Massachusetts and Darmstadt (Germany).  He also spent a sabbatical at the field station of Harvard University, Harvard Forest, where he received a Bullard Fellowship.  Rolf collaborated with many colleagues from tropical countries in Latin America and Asia, analyzing large phenological data sets, and was a reviewer for numerous research papers on phenology (periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasons and habitat). Our deepest sympathies go out to Dr. Borchert’s family and all those whose lives he touched.