Markus Rettenmayr came from Schwäbisch Gmünd. He studied metallurgy at the University of Stuttgart, graduating with a degree in "Physikalische Metallkunde" (1987). After a stay as a visiting scientist at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne with Michel Rappaz (1987 to 1988), he completed his doctorate at the University of Stuttgart with Hans-Eckart Exner on the topic of "Numerisches Modell zur Beschreibung der Mikroseigerung in ternären Legierungen" with the degree of Dr. rer. nat. He then continued his research in the USA as a postdoctoral fellow with Martin E. Glicksman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before moving to TU Darmstadt to work again with Hans-Eckart Exner. At TU Darmstadt, he received his habilitation in 2000 with his thesis on "Evolution of Microstructure and Segregation during Liquid/Solid Phase Transitions". He was awarded the Venia Legendi for Materials Science. In 2004, he accepted a professorship at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, where he was appointed Professor of Metallic Materials. As an accomplished researcher, he dealt experimentally and theoretically with solidification processes, phase transformations, alloy development, and oxidation phenomena, among others. As a dedicated university teacher, he was appreciated and valued by students. His active involvement in academic self-governance enabled the establishment of the Otto Schott Institute for Materials Research at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in 2010, of which he was the founding director. At this time, he turned down a call to become a university professor at the University of Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He took over the Chair of Metallic Materials as a university professor at the University of Jena. In addition, he took on the responsible task of ombudsman for good scientific practice at the University of Jena.

He has received many awards for his work as a scientist and university lecturer, including the Georg-Sachs-Preis of the DGM, the Roland-Mitsche-Preis, the Lehrpreis der Studierenden der Physikalisch-Astronomischen Fakultät in Jena, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Miskolc, Hungary.

In the DGM he has contributed in different roles and enriched our society with outstanding commitment. From 2010 to 2013, he chaired the DGM's Expert Committee on Materialography. He has advanced this important topic with a steady hand and consistently. In particular, he has championed the cause of female metallographer education and organized and hosted a very successful metallography conference in Jena in 2008.

Markus Rettenmayr was a creative and productive scientist who also always cared about the welfare of the people around him. As a keen analyst, he was solution-oriented and pragmatic in his approach to the big picture.

When Markus entered a room, it became bigger and more colorful. We miss him very much.

Gerhard Schneider, Andreas Undisz, Stephanie Lippmann, Andreas Neidel, 27 May 2022