In Honor of a Pioneering Scientist

A brilliant mind remembered: Philippe Bastiaens

We are deeply saddened by the news of the demise of Prof. Philippe Bastiaens. He is renowned for his pioneering work in cell biology, particularly in developing advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques and elucidating the spatial dynamics of cellular signaling. For us here at Matter to Life, we not only got to witness his brilliant mind as a scientist but also his deep passion for training, motivating and encouraging the next generation of researchers.

He was able to talk about the importance of science, art, meditation, mentoring, in the breath of the same conversation. His enthusiasm was infectious, and many of our students were infected for posterity! 

Our student’s tributes and memories 

In tribute to his legacy, our students have shared, in their own words, what Philippe meant to them personally and to the Matter to Life initiative.

“He was one of the most passionate scientists I met and his engagement with students was exceptional and inspiring. Some of my most memorable MtL events are the ones he participated in. During conferences he would be fully focused and ask interesting questions and over coffee and lunch breaks he would entertain us with remarkable stories ranging from quantum physics all the way to psychology. I never saw him opening his laptop during such events; he was always present and he rather spent his time with students. He will be remembered as a passionate scientist and a great human being to talk to.”
Sunnatullo Fazliev

“He was a larger-than-life character, one of the most passionate Matter to Life faculty members. He was the main character anywhere he went—stubborn and opinionated, truly passionate about science and about what we did and thought as students. He was the antithesis of the modern "proper" academic. The career-focused academics who see students as research assets and focus on grants, citations, and rankings, most showing little interest beyond their specialties. These academiocrats prioritize metrics over mentorship, viewing students solely through the lens of immediate productivity and monetary gain rather than as students. Philippe Bastiaens saw through this, rejected it, and openly ridiculed it. This didn't make him friends. He passionately believed that each of us had the ability to achieve great things, and he wanted us to see this and believe this—to not be “corrupted by the system”. He was impatient and loud, making his thoughts known without mincing words. He spoke his mind like a bulldozer, and while he wasn't delicate in his speech, he honestly wanted us to see science as a beautiful and amazing adventure where we could explore the mind-blowing realities of existence.
He would arrive for the Ringberg lectures with a car packed full of meditation pillows and tools, determined to teach us how to Zen-meditate and clear our minds. He did this simply because he wanted to help us in the ways he knew how. I have never met another PI who was so passionate and dedicated, who was so generous with their time. He didn't shy away from big ideas, effortlessly citing Jung, discoveries in quantum physics, Buddhism, morphogenesis, medieval history and Dutch geopolitics in a span of lunch. He was a force of nature, a category 5 storm. He was overwhelming, loud and brilliant. He was honest and took no prisoners. He will be deeply missed.”
Jan Jedryszek

“Prof. Bastiaens was a passionate, focused and loud scientist. In the few times I could talk to him, I saw in him a burning fire of curiosity, passion and absolutely no tolerance for mediocrity in life. His questions were sharp as needles and went deep, really making you realize the things that are important not only in research, but in life. And the reason he questioned with such intensity was because he deeply cared about his students, about his research and about the progress of science. His impact in Matter to Life and in academia was great, and his absence will be felt for long. May he rest in peace and may his family find comfort.”
Silvia Morales Manzano

Philippe Bastiaens was an extraordinary and memorable mentor; a strong proponent of critical thinking and honesty in science.
He was and will remain in our memory one of the truly unique figures of Matter to Life, ready to bring great discussions forward and never holding back his energy and enthusiasm. He pushed everyone around him to examine their assumptions and motivations for their work while highlighting unique and extraordinary thinking, thus shaping Matter to Life to become richer in thinking and exchange of ideas. I deeply hope that we will retain his spirit within Matter to Life.
Jan Geisler

“Philippe Bastiaens was a unique member in our community who stood out for always trying to make sense of scientific insights also from a philosophical point of view and never losing the eye for the big picture. He was an inspiring conversation partner who used all his life experiences and his immense knowledge from many different fields to shape his thinking and share it with us. And he never failed to convey his deep admiration and fascination for the living world and he taught others to treat it with respect.”
Josef Kaenders

“This is a terrible day for Matter to Life. Philippe—and I call him that because he insisted on not being called “professor”—spent hours and hours talking to my fellow students and me at numerous Matter to Life events. He was always approachable: for science, for mentoring, for any type of question, really. I rarely encountered any PI being so open-minded and honest, yet incredibly smart and wise.
He showed up at so many events, not only for the talks but also afterwards, simply to hang out and have an open ear for everyone. Philippe’s idea of Matter to Life was a never-ending discussion—below the crystal-clear night sky of Schloss Ringberg—about how cells talk to each other, how proteins dance inside of them, and how wrong it is to use lab mice for experiments since they evolved to be so different from the wild type.
I will never take what he did for us for granted. I pledge to let Philippe’s memory and the “idea” he had about the school live on. As he called himself, “The Jester”—Dear Jester—we will miss you. I will miss you.
My thoughts are with his family. We, as the Matter to Life community, offer our full support.”
Johannes Hahmann

“I am very shocked about the news of Professor Bastiaens' passing. Since I saw him for the first time at MtL Fall Days in Aachen 2022, I was always looking forward to seeing him at any MtL event. His questions, talks, and openness for discussions away from the main stage of the event added a completely different and intriguing perspective on science for me personally and, I think, also for many more people within our community. His passion for science, even in fields he wasn't working in, was unmatched. Late-night discussions at Ringberg even went much further than science and provided a view about values and life in general that has changed the way I think about many topics to this day.
His contributions and he personally will be greatly missed, and I hope that his legacy can live on within Matter to Life, as he was of great influence for the entire school. My thoughts go out to his family.”
Boris Schüpp

“It’s hard to express the shock and pain that I feel from Philippe’s passing, because he was simply too large to contain in words. From the moment I met him, Philippe changed my life. At the time, upon arriving at Matter to Life in 2019, I was having a crisis of faith about my path in life, but I found in Philippe a kindred spirit who reinspired in me a love for science, and more importantly, the courage to be recklessly, transgressively curious. From his introductory talk in Heidelberg, where he shared his favorite termite hill example of self-organization and his deep desire to speak the language of cells and know their thoughts, I saw that he was a true scientist in a rare sense: not just brilliant, but unabashed, committed to truth, taken by the beauty of nature, and completely unwilling to conform his thoughts to any imposed window of acceptability. That very day, I knew I had to work with him. 
Everyone who knew Philippe knows he was a wildly unique, creative soul, and I feel immensely privileged to have called him an advisor. In our last correspondence, we said that we would meet again someday; I don’t know how I will ever accept that that isn’t true. Thank you, Philipe, for the intellectual and spiritual nourishment you generously offered. You will be sorely missed, and the world of science will be forever poorer for your absence. I’ll see you in every termite hill and every image of a dancing cell.”
Jeffery Andrade

“Philippe Bastiaens was one of the few fellows who was consistently at events and always paid attention to student talks. He was one of the few to bridge the gap between students and fellows with his outgoing personality. The MtL community will miss him greatly.”
Mahin Mursalin

“Unfortunately, I met Prof. Philippe Bastiaens only once, at the MtL Spring Days in Göttingen. But still it was an unforgettable session: fresh and direct, passionate and honest! Join the condolences of my colleagues.”
Vitalii Grigorev

“One of the first talks I heard during my time in Matter-to-Life was given by Philippe and I was truly astonished. Since then I was looking forward to meet him in person, which then finally happened during the Fall Days 2022. His questions were sharp, always aimed with pin-point accuracy and asked with tremendous fervor and volume. To be honest, I felt a bit intimidated by him. However, after more interactions with Philippe, I realized that he was not only a truly passionate scientist, but a human who was passionate about life itself, studying life in each and all of its facettes. Philippe teached us about approaching life holistically, not only in science but also in how we as humans could perceive the world itself. I hope that we as the Matter-to-Life community can carry on the legacy of Philippe's unique thinking and his gentleness about the living world.”
Kevin Kaub

“I cannot quite explain why, but although I spoke with Philippe for perhaps less than an hour in total, I count him among the most influential people in my academic life.”
Christoph Karfusehr

“During the meditation sessions Philippe offered to us students during Ringberg 2024, he told us that he doesn’t want to be our guru but simply wants to show us a technique to further explore our minds. What we do with what he tells us is totally up to us. He had the same approach with all other subjects he talked about, always stressing the importance of critical and holistic thinking, being very strong in his opinions but again and again encouraging us students to stand up for ourselves and our ideas. He rejected the common academic hierarchies, as well as restricting himself to one topic or realm of knowledge. The more you interacted with him, the more apparent it became that he was deeply curious about the world and showed great care for it as well as for us students. Those who knew him will not forget him.”
Lena Strieker

“I always enjoyed having a conversation with him during MtL events, it didn’t matter how late it was, he was always there for students to talk with them for hours. He showed us how to broaden our view to get new ideas, how to question everything that other people show you. His discussion at the Ringberg Symposium will be greatly missed.”
Nitin Bohra