Ralf Janda was born in 1953 in Berlin. He obtained his Abitur (secondary school-leaving examination in 1973 and pursued chemistry at the Free University Berlin (FUB) from 1973 to 1978, thereby obtaining the degree Diploma-Chemist (summa cum laude). While working as a scientific assistant and researcher at the FUB he wrote his doctoral thesis and graduated in 1979 as a natural science doctor, Dr. r...