Tracing Erich Sackmann's journey from liquid crystals to biological membranes

Biological membranes and liquid crystals are closely related because they exhibit similar types of molecular ordering and symmetry. This deep connection led many researchers in the 1960s and 1970s to cross back and forth between the two domains of research. Erich Sackmann crossed over early in his career, taking concepts and techniques from liquid crystal physics to membrane biology, and stayed to provide unique insights into the organization and behavior of membranes, helping to lay the foundations of physics of biological membranes and biophysics as we know it today. His mastery of liquid crystalline order, phase transition, anisotropy, and dynamics, naturally led him to fundamental properties of membrane stacks, membranes, and cytoskeletal mechanics. He helped establish simplified "model membranes" as a powerful tool to isolate and study specific aspects of membrane behavior under controlled conditions and transfer this knowledge to biology.