Heinz Wolff was born in April 1928 into comfortable Berlin Jewish (non-Orthodox) family, the only child of Margot née Saalfeld (died of natural causes, October 1938) and Oswald Wolff whose family owned a textile waste business until the crash in 1923. He was an only child but brought up with cousin and her parents. He had a happy childhood. He was educated at Lesser (Jewish) School, Berlin until he left for England in August 1939, with father, uncle, aunt and cousin, travelling to London via Holland.

 

He stayed for a short time in Hampstead then went to Oxford with his father, where lived in a boarding-house whilst attending Oxford Grammar School. He left home aged 15. Rather than wait a year for deferred University place, he decided to work, starting at Radcliffe Infirmary Medical labs., teaching himself what he lacked as need arose and being given rein to let his creative scientific bent come into play. He invented the term ‘bioengineering’ in 1954. He met his future wife, Joan Stevenson, non-Jewish Night Sister whilst working at Pneumoconiosis Research Unit near Cardiff. His Father built up the publishing house Oswald Wolff in London, and in 1954 married Ilse Löwenthal, also an ex-refugee from Berlin, (temporarily) secretary of Dr Alfred Wiener, later Librarian of Wiener Library. After Oswald Wolff’s death 1968, she ran the publishing company.

 

Heinz Wolff has made many commercial inventions starting with ‘Imp’ 1956. His television programmes, especially The Great Egg Race and Young Scientist of the Year are still remembered with affection. He has always been particularly keen on stimulating young people‘s interest in science. He also did great deal of work connected with the exploration of space, both for Britain and on the European level . Among his many honours have been Doctorates from Open University; Oxford Brookes University; De Montfort University, Leicester; Middlesex University and Brunel University. Also has another career as after-dinner speaker.