Obituary for Prof. Dr. Dr. Friedemann Pulvermüller
It is with great sadness that we inform our friends and colleagues of the sudden passing of our beloved colleague, Professor Dr. Dr. Friedemann Pulvermüller. Friedemann had been an exceptionally prolific and accomplished member of the Freie Universität Berlin since 2011. As a leading international expert in the neuroscience of language, he developed a neurobiological model of language processing that expanded cell assembly theory into a comprehensive account of how meaning emerges in the brain, and he used these insights to advance language rehabilitation after brain injury. His outstanding contributions were recognized through numerous prestigious national and international awards and research grants, including, most recently, a European Research Council (ERC) grant investigating the material constraints of human cognition and linguistic functions.
Friedemann Pulvermüller was a model scholar, particularly in his commitment to bridging the humanities with the methods and research areas of the natural sciences, with vision and research that has shaped and inspired generations of scientists worldwide. Beyond his scientific achievements, he was admired as a generous mentor, a supportive colleague, and a truly kind and compassionate human being. Being a top-level scientist, a successful team leader, and at the same time a warm, friendly, and humorous person is a very rare combination, one that made him both a pillar of our community and a dear friend to many. With his expertise, he enriched the linguistics group in the Dahlem Center for Lingusitics, the Institute for German and Dutch Philology, and the Department of Philosophy and Humanities at the Freie Universität in ways that are impossible to replace.
His spirit, his vision, his boundless intellectual curiosity, and his brilliance have inspired and will continue to inspire countless colleagues and students for years to come. Our thoughts are with his wife and family during this difficult time.
Source: Press Release FU