It is with great remorse that we acknowledge the passing of our friend and colleague, Professor Sine Larsen.
It is not easy to do justice to the impact of Professor Sine Larsen, whose work covered so many aspects and areas of crystallography. We have known Professor Sine Larsen for decades and have all experienced her as a teacher, mentor, and colleague at the University of Copenhagen.
Sine Larsen’s scientific contributions spanned a wide range of crystallographic areas, from investigations of the stability of enantiomeric systems and charge-density studies of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding to studies of carbohydrate-modifying enzymes and other proteins.
Within the field of small-molecule crystallography, we emphasize her collaborative work with Professor Robert F. Stewart, one of the fathers of experimental charge-density studies. Prof. Stewart was an extraordinary scientist but did not thrive in the role of science leader. During Prof. Stewart’s sabbatical and months-long summer visits to Copenhagen, Sine Larsen created an ideal working atmosphere for him. Together, Stewart and Larsen published a range of highly acclaimed charge-density papers and supervised a handful of PhD students. Sine Larsen was not only a strong scientist but also a science facilitator.
Thus, Sine Larsen’s most important achievements were related to the interplay between scientists. She was a formidable science leader, curator, inspirer, and politician. Under her leadership, the Centre for Crystallographic Studies at the University of Copenhagen in the 1990s and 2000s became an important anchor in the Danish crystallographic community, also initiating macromolecular crystallography in the Copenhagen region. During it’s lifetime the center had a steady stream of internationally established scientists visiting. Sine and her husband Erik often hosted the scientists on their farm north of Copenhagen, where she also held summer parties for her large research group.
At the same time, Sine Larsen served as a hard-working and enthusiastic General Secretary and Treasurer and, later, elected President of the International Union of Crystallography, serving on the Executive Committee from 2008 to 2014. The leadership skills that Sine Larsen demonstrated during her years as Professor and leader of the Centre for Crystallographic Studies were put to further use during her many years as Director of Research for Life Sciences at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (2003-2009) and Director of the MAX IV Laboratory (2011-2012). During her years at ESRF, an upgrade program was initiated, new buildings housing the partnership for structural biology rose, and automated remote data collection became routine. Sine Larsen demonstrated a type of visible leadership that ESRF had not seen before, taking pride in knowing details about the science and people at every beamline. Many years later, she was welcomed with a smile at all beamlines.
Returning from Grenoble to her Professorship at the University of Copenhagen, Sine Larsen continued her focus on facilitating collaboration. From 2013 to 2017, Sine Larsen led the CoNeXT cross-faculty research collaboration program, promoting the use of X-ray and neutron facilities across all areas of the university. Even Law and the Social Sciences were involved. Sine Larsen further served as a member of the advisory committee of several of the largest synchrotron facilities.
Sine was deeply honored to receive the recognition from her colleagues with the ECA Max Perutz Prize at the ECA conference in Oviedo. Sine Larsen was one of the most enthusiastic scientists we have met, and she was able to pass on this enthusiasm through her work to colleagues and students throughout her long career.
Anders Østergaard Madsen, Michael Gajhede, and Annette Eva Langkilde