On November 17, 2024, our highly esteemed colleague and General Secretary of the International Institute of Sugar Beet Research (IIRB), Dr. Stephanie Kluth, passed away after a serious illness at the age of just 52.
Stephanie Kluth was born on June 18, 1972, in Schwäbisch Hall. Her life took her to various international locations that shaped her as a European. She attended the German School in Brussels (1980-1987) and graduated from Hohenlohe Gymnasium in Öhringen in 1991. Her passion for natural sciences led her to study biology at the University of Göttingen with a 6-month Erasmus stay at the University of Manchester. Stephanie Kluth completed her diploma in biology in 1997 and then went on to complete a DFG-funded doctorate in agroecology with Prof. Dr. Teja Tscharntke on the topic “Interactions between Canada thistle, pathogenic fungi and phytophagous insects: Fundamentals of biological weed control”. During this time, the first collaborations with sugar beet research took place; she analyzed reserve substances of thistle at the Institute of Sugar Beet Research (IfZ) in the Phytomedicine Department. She successfully defended her doctorate in 2002, when she was already the mother of a daughter.
From 2002 to 2006, she was employed as a scientist at the IfZ working on the characterization of the resistance of beta beets to the pathogen that causes late blight, Rhizoctonia solani. During this time, her two sons were born. Together with her husband, family was the most important thing in her life.
From 2006 to 2008, Stephanie Kluth successively developed her work focus on knowledge transfer and technical communication and was responsible for the redesign of the homepage at the IfZ at that time. During these years, she also gained her first experience in the organization of international conferences such as a symposium on Rhizoctonia and the Göttingen Sugar Beet Conference. At the same time, she was also employed as an assistant to the IIRB management from 2006 and played a key role in the relocation of the IIRB office from Brussels to Göttingen during this time.
In 2008, Dr. Stephanie Kluth succeeded Dr. Helmut Teschemacher as Secretary General of the International Institute of Sugar Beet Research. With her outstanding organizational talent, empathy, enthusiasm and expertise, she has shaped and influenced international exchange in sugar beet research over the years. She has contributed significantly to the transfer of knowledge and personal exchange between international research institutes, sugar companies, seed breeders and those interested in sugar beet took place at the highest level, thereby supporting the sustainable development of sugar beet cultivation.
We all have very personal memories of the IIRB’s great conferences, workshops and seminars, where important topics were critically reflected upon and the latest findings shared. In total, Stephanie Kluth organized ten congresses including excursions as well as twelve specialist seminars on relevant topics in different countries across Europe. Her organizational talent and attention to detail were reflected in the consistently successful selection of conference venues, as well as in the close cooperation with the host country’s institutes and scientists. It was particularly important to her that the conferences were a special experience for the international members and guests of the IIRB with their different professional and cultural backgrounds, not only through the professional exchange, but especially through the personal discussions and the shared interaction during the events.
Stephanie Kluth’s professionalism was also evident in the fact that she established many (partly administrative) processes in the office and stabilized the IIRB’s international position through her work over 16 years. Her keen instinct for reaching a successful compromise among the IIRB members in situations of conflicting interests deserves special mention. Her collaboration with the Board of Directors and the respective presidents, the Scientific Advisory Board, the specialist working groups and her colleagues in the office was always characterized by appreciation, trust, interest and transparency. Many friendships have developed from professional contacts, which are spread internationally across the countries where sugar beet is grown.
In her position as Secretary General of our scientific society, she has made a valuable contribution over 16 years. In Dr. Stephanie Kluth, we have lost a loving and humorous, highly esteemed, emphatic, extremely competent and committed colleague in sugar beet research. We are personally saddened by her untimely death. Stephanie Kluth will have a permanent place in our memories. Our thoughts are with her family, her husband and her children.
Institut für Zuckerrübenforschung, IfZ
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