Fun facts about the faculty: Jens Christian Skou

"Skous lab.", it says on the back of this photo from 1957, where the lab technicians Lilian Nielsen, Jytte Hansen and Skous's permanent lab assistant Inge Raungaard are probably doing the crab experiments. Photo from the book "Science is passion".

At the Steno Museum, Jens Chr. Skou's office is recreated exactly as it was when he worked in it at Biomedicine. In the top drawer of the desk between writing instruments and hearing aids are his toothbrush and a tube of Colgate, and on the table is the telephone on which he received the call about the Nobel Prize.

The Skou memorial plaque from the yard in Lemvig is made of the material gneiss. It was carved by Ejgil Westergaard, who also carved a bit of a cell membrane in the lower left corner. On the opposite side, he has carved a model of the sodium-potassium pump. Photo: Principal Bo Haahr Larsen

… 20,000 beach crabs lost their lives in Skou's laboratory? Skou conducted his biomedical research on beach crabs from Kattegat, which he had delivered by a fisherman from south of Aarhus. Each experiment required 20 crabs to be separated, boiled, centrifuged and analyzed. This meant going through a total of 200 crabs per week, which reportedly gave the entire department a characteristic smell.
... a commemorative plaque in Skou’s honour hangs in the yard at Lemvig Gymnasium? Jens Chr. Skou was born in Lemvig, and on his 80th birthday in 1998 he was named an honorary citizen there. In fact, Skou never went to Lemvig gymnasium, because it didn't exist when he was a young man. Instead, he got his diploma from Haslev Gymnasium. But no need to nitpick about details - for example, Skou also won the Nobel Prize in chemistry without being a trained chemist.
... Skou published his last scientific article at the age of 96? He officially retired in 1988, but kept his office at the university, where he continued to take an active part in research at the department as professor emeritus until 2015, where his last article was published. Skou's office, which he resided in for more than 40 years, was moved and recreated 1:1 at the Steno Museum, where it is part of the exhibition 'Science is passion'. It is the only preserved office of a Nobel Laureate.

BONUS: Watch Skou's last interview

The last video interview with Jens Chr. Skou was recorded at the award ceremony of the very first Skou award in 2016, which went to Trine Mogensen. In addition to Mogensen’s research, two things particularly pleased and impressed Skou about the award recipient. Just watch (in Danish only):

Sources

Steno Museum: The exhibition ’Videnskab er lidenskab’
The book ”Videnskab er lidenskab – med forskere på arbejde”, edited by Morten Arnika Skydsgaard and Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen, Aarhus Universitetsforlag
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2102549853153464