Fascinating viruses

Not long after returning to the Netherlands from Paris, Thung was appointed as a phytopathologist at the Proefstation Vorsten landsche Tabak (Research Station for Vorstenlanden Tobacco) in Klaten, Central Java. He started work there in 1929. His research on plant diseases on tobacco plantations focused on disease control and prevention. This period was incredibly important […]

Shortly after obtaining his PhD, Thung and his family left for Paris where he had the opportunity to conduct research at various laboratories and work with international scientists, for example at the prestigious Institut Pasteur. To timeline

On 20 January 1928, Thung was awarded a PhD with honours for his thesis entitled Physiologisch onderzoek met betrekking tot het virus der bladrolziekte van de aardappelplant, Solanum tuberosum L. (Physiological investigations in relation to the virus of leafroll disease in potato plants, Solanum tuberosum L.) Thung’s research question was whether, in leafroll disease, the

On 2 June 1925, Thung was appointed ‘deputy phytopathologist’ at the Quanjer’s laboratory. He became ‘assistant’ for a year, an appointment which would be extended several times. Thung’s very first scientific publication appeared in 1926 in the Tijdschrift over Plantenziekten (Journal of Phytopathology) (Issue 32, pp. 161-179), under the title ‘Opmerkingen over Peronospora parasitica op

Six months after his internship with Professor Quanjer, on 30 January 1925, Thung passed the candidate examination, and on 26 March 1925, he completed his study programme with a diploma in Agricultural Engineering. To timeline

Research on diseases in potatoes was of great social importance in the first half of the twentieth century. For large parts of the population in the Western Hemisphere, and especially for the less affluent classes, the potato was the main source of food. Potato diseases could lead to famines, the most notorious of which occurred

Thung resumed his studies in Wageningen in 1924. In 1919, the Rijks Hoogere Land-, Tuin- en Boschbouwschool had been transformed into the Agricultural College, with modified and extended examination requirements. Thung enrolled in the study programme in Agricultural Engineering. This period defined Thung’s scientific career, not least because of the lectures he followed with Professor

After suffering what we would now call burnout due to personal circumstances, Thung was taken in by the Ter Haar Romeny family, consisting of Pastor Barend and his wife, Fernanda Willekes Mac Donald. This event had a major impact on his life, as Fernanda would eventually become his wife (in 1923). The couple had two

In 1920, Quanjer was appointed Director of the Institute of Phytopathology. For this Institute, a new laboratory was built in 1923 at the Binnenhaven in Wageningen, including specially built greenhouses for virus research. The new laboratory was named Laboratory of Mycology and Potato Research. To timeline

In 1916, Thung came to Wageningen with his cousin to study at the Rijks Hoogere Land-, Tuin- en Boschbouwschool. Thung graduated with a diploma in Agronomy. In September 1921 he obtained a degree in Tropical Agriculture, thus earning the right to call himself ‘Dutch-Indonesian Agronomist’. To timeline