Roland Walter

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Roland Walter with students on an excursion in the Taunus, July 1987.

Roland Walter (born August 13, 1934 in Selters , Westerwald ) is a German geologist who is known, among other things, as the author of two standard geological works on the history of the earth and the geology of Central Europe . From 1997 to 1999 he was rector of RWTH Aachen .

Life

During his studies in Münster under Franz Lotze , Walter dealt with research in the Old Paleozoic Spain (transition from the Asturian slate mountains to the crystalline zone of Galicia ). In 1962 he described his results in the dissertation on Stratigraphy and Tectonics in the northeastern province of Lugo (northwestern Spain). Only after completing his dissertation did he graduate in 1963. In 1969 he completed his habilitation with the help of a habilitation grant from the DFG at the University of Münster on the subject of stratigraphy and palaeogeography of the extra-Alpine Silurian in northern, western and central Europe and the western USSR. After completing his habilitation, he undertook, among other things, further investigations into the structural geology of the Paleozoic Era in central Spain and worked as an engineering geologist in the context of dam construction in South America. In May 1972 he took part in an expedition to the Arctic, where he examined the ice structures in Eclipse Sound between Bylot Island and Baffin Island .

In 1972 he was appointed head of the chair for geology and palaeontology at RWTH Aachen University as the successor to Werner Pleßmann . In addition to his teaching activities, which included mapping courses in Portugal, Spain and southern France, he and his working group carried out geological research on the stratigraphy , sedimentology and structural geology of the Old Paleozoic in south-west Spain, the Ardennes , the Eifel and the High Fens as well in the western Urals . In addition, he was significantly involved in the pre-selection of a possible location for the continental deep drilling program of the Federal Republic of Germany . One possible location for the deep drilling planned as part of this program was in the High Fens, but the decision was made in favor of Windischeschenbach in the Upper Palatinate .

During his time as head of the geological institute, he worked on several DFG projects, such as research in the Southern Urals, and was a member of the steering group of the Europrobe SW IBERIA Project . In addition, he was chairman of the research committee of the German Geological Society and, from 1991, chairman of the geocommission of the DFG.

Between 1997 and 1999 Walter held the position of 46th Rector of RWTH Aachen University.

After his retirement in August 1999, he was a member of the Baden-Württemberg University Council between 2000 and 2003 and chairman and then honorary chairman of the “Friends and Sponsors of RWTH Aachen eV” (proRWTH) from 2000 to 2004.

Roland Walter has been awarded the Hans Stille Medal (1996) and the von Kaven Ring from RWTH Aachen University (2005). Today he lives with his wife in the northern Eifel.

Works (selection)

  • 1962: Stratigraphy and tectonics in the northeastern province of Lugo (northwestern Spain). Dissertation, natural science Researches
  • 1968: The geology in the northeastern province of Lugo (northwestern Spain). (= Geotectonic Research 27), E. Schweizerbart (with Günter Nollau, Franz Lotze), ISBN 3-510-50918-8 .
  • 1972: Paleogeography of the Silurian in Northern, Central and Western Europe. (= Geotectonic Research, Volume 41), E. Schweizerbart, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-510-50007-5 .
  • 1973: Geological map of the Pyrenees-Cantabrian border area 1: 200000. F. Steiner Verlag (with Franz Lotze)
  • 1978: The geotectonic development in Northwestern Central Europe during the Lower Palaeozoic. In: New Yearbook for Geology and Paleontology. Monthly books. Pp. 621-639.
  • 1985: Geology and Geophysics of the Northeastern Hohes Venn Area. Report on a Joint Geoscientific Venture. (= New Yearbook for Geology and Paleontology. Treatises. Volume 171, Issue 1–3, as editor with Jürgen Wohlenberg)
  • 1990: Earth history. 4th edition, de Gruyter, ISBN 3-11-012403-3 . (with Klaus Schmidt)
  • 1992: Geology of Central Europe. 5th edition, Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-510-65149-9 .
  • 1994: Contributions to the geology of the southwestern Iberian Meseta. In: New Yearbook of Geology and Paleontology Treatises . Volume 192, Issue 3, pp. 293–381, E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (with Uwe Giese, Rainer von Hoegen, Gregor Hollmann)
  • 1995: Geology of Central Europe. 6th edition, Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-510-65167-7 .
  • 1999: The earth in sight. The geosciences on the threshold of the 21st century. Springer Verlag, ISBN 3-540-66027-5 . (with Hans-Peter Harjes, Horst Rademacher, Lutz Stroink)
  • 1999: Horizons: RWTH Aachen on the way into the 21st century. Springer Verlag, ISBN 3-540-66373-8 . (with Burkhard Rauhut)
  • 2003: Earth history. The formation of the continents and oceans. 5th edition, de Gruyter Verlag, ISBN 978-3-11-017697-1 .
  • 2007: Geology of Central Europe. 7th edition, Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-510-65225-9 .
  • 2010: Aachen and southern surroundings. Collection of geological guides, volume 100, Gebr. Borntraeger, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-443-15086-0 .
  • 2010: Aachen and northern surroundings. Collection of geological guides, Volume 101, Gebr. Borntraeger, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-443-15087-7 .
  • 2011: Aachener Georouten - Nine hikes around the Aachener Kessel , Grenz-Echo Verlag, Eupen, ISBN 978-3-86712-058-6

literature

  • Festschrift Roland Walter: Roland Walter - geologist and university professor out of passion. Journal of the German Society for Geosciences, Volume 150, Issue 3, 1999

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Stille Medal to Prof. Dr. Roland Walter. (MS-Word; 351 kB) News of the German Geological Society, issue 59, 1996
  2. ^ R. Walter and K. Blewett: Structure mapping and profile recording in the sea ice of the Eclipse Sound (Baffin Island) . Polar Research 42, 97-101.
  3. ↑ Provenance analysis of Young Precambrian and Young Paleozoic siliciclastics in the western southern Urals: the detritus as a relic of disappeared crustal segments and an indicator of geodynamic processes
  4. ↑ Ore deposits and geodynamics of the southwestern Variscides (Iberian Pyrite Belt, Massif Central and NW Iberia) ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gl.rhbnc.ac.uk
  5. ^ Chronicle of the City of Aachen 1997: Roland Walter, Professor of Geology, becomes the new Rector of RWTH Aachen. (PDF; 378 kB)
  6. ^ Toni Wimmer: Change of staff in the Rectorate of RWTH Aachen. September 3, 1999
  7. ↑ Elisabeth Zuber-Knost: The University Council is made up of outstanding personalities: Nine external parties share responsibility
  8. ↑ Chronicle of the City of Aachen, 2004 (PDF; 528 kB)
  9. ↑ List of the winners of the Hans Stille Medal (pdf; 32 kB)
  10. ↑ Professor Walter honored with "Von-Kaven-Ring". RWTH Aachen, February 28, 2005

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Walter, Roland
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geologist and rector of RWTH Aachen University (1997–1999)
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Selters