Fom representations of finite groups to biology - the early work of Andreas Dress

The early contributions of Andreas Dress centred around groups and their representations. For example a fundamental induction theorem is named after him, generalising well known results of Artin and Brauer, and opening new directions in modular representation theory through the use of of algebraic K-theory. His interest in applications of mathematics manifested when he moved in 1969 to Bielefeld as one of the first professors of the newly founded faculty of mathematics. My talk will present some personal impressions from the perspective of a former colleague (and a representation theorist).