Biography

Born February 6, 1937, Pieter Westbroek studied geology at Leiden University. His doctoral thesis (1967, cum laude) concerned the paleobiology of Paleozoic brachiopods and in particular the method of shell growth.

For the next two years, he studied the mechanisms of biomineralization in the Biochemistry Department at Queen's University Belfast, focusing on the unicellular alga Emiliana huxleyi. Following this internship, he was put in charge of the geobiochemistry group in the Department of Biochemistry at Leiden University.

In this role, Pieter Westbroek's work focuses on the following topics:

  1. Calcification mechanism in Emiliana huxleyi ;
  2. Initiation and coordination of the " Global Emiliana Modeling Initiative (GEM) ", an international program on the climatic role of marine biota ; Pieter Westbroek is directly responsible for the molecular biology and geological aspects of this program ;
  3. The origins of microbial calcification of manganese and iron.

In collaboration with Drs. E. W. de Jong and J. P. M. de Vring, Pieter Westbroek organized the " Fourth International Symposium on Biomineralization " in the Netherlands in 1982. In 1991, he published a book entitled " Life as a geological force. Dynamics of the Earth " (Norton, New York).

In 1993, he received the Coke Medal from the Geological Society in London. In the course of his career, he has held various administrative positions and been a member of the organizing committee for numerous international conferences and congresses on geosphere-biosphere interactions.

Pieter Westbroek has been a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences since 1992.

Guest professor at the Collège de France, holding the annual European Chair from 1996 to 1997.

Selected bibliography

Main books and articles

  • Systématique et importance stratigraphique des rhynchonelles du Calcaire de Crémenes (Dévonien supérieur, Province de León, Espagne)

    Westbroek P., « Systématique et importance stratigraphique des rhynchonelles du Calcaire de Crémenes (Dévonien supérieur, Province de León, Espagne) », Leidse Geol. Meded., n° 30, 1964, p. 43-252.

  • Functional morphology of brachiopod and coral skeletal structures supporting ciliated epithelia

    Westbroek P., Yanagida J. et Isa Y., « Functional morphology of brachiopod and coral skeletal structures supporting ciliated epithelia », Paleobiology, n° 6, 1980, p. 313-330.

  • Biomineralization and Biological Metal Accumulation, Biological and Geological Perspectives

    Westbroek P. et De Jong E. W. (éd.), Biomineralization and Biological Metal Accumulation, Biological and Geological Perspectives, Dordrecht, Reidel, 1983, 593 p.

  • Mechanisms of calcification in the marine alga Emiliana huxleyi

    Westbroek P., De Jong E. W., Van des Wal P., Borman A. H., De Vring J. P. M., Kok D., De Gruijin W. C. et Parker S. B., « Mechanisms of calcification in the marine alga Emiliana huxleyi », Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B304, 1983, p. 435-444.

  • Life as a geological force. Dynamics of the Earth

    Westbroek P., Life as a geological force. Dynamics of the Earth, New York, Norton (Commonwealth Fund Book Program), 1991, 240 p.

  • Preservation of the bone protein osteocalcin in dinosaurs

    Muyzer G., Sandberg P., Knapen M. J. H., Wermeer C., Collins M. et Westbroek P., « Preservation of the bone protein osteocalcin in dinosaurs », Geology, n° 20, 1992, p. 871-874.

  • A model system approach to biological climate forcing. The example of Emiliana Huxleyi

    Westbroek P., Brown C. W., Van Bleijswijk J., Brownlee C., Brummer G. J., Conte M., Egge J., Fernandez E., Jordan R., Knappertsbusch M., Stefels J., Veldhuis M., Van der Wal P. et Young J., « A model system approach to biological climate forcing. The example of Emiliana Huxleyi », Global and Planetary Change, n° 8, 1993, p. 27-46.

  • Strategies for the study of climate forcing by calcification

    Westbroek P., Buddemeier B., Coleman M., Kok D. J., Fautin D. et Stal L., « Strategies for the study of climate forcing by calcification », Monaco, n° spécial 13, 1994, p. 37-60.

  • Standing stocks of PIC, POC, PON and Emiliana huxleyi coccospheres and liths in seawater enclosures with different phosphate loadings

    Van Bleijswijk J. D. L., Kempers E. S., Van der Wal P., Westbroek P., Egge J. K. et Lukk T., « Standing stocks of PIC, POC, PON and Emiliana huxleyi coccospheres and liths in seawater enclosures with different phosphate loadings », Sarsia, vol. 79, n° 4, 1995, p. 304-317.

  • Skeletal matrices muci, and the origin of invertebrate calcification

    Marin F., Smith M., Isa Y., Muyser G. et Westbroek P., « Skeletal matrices muci, and the origin of invertebrate calcification », Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., n° 93,  p. 1554-1559.