Erich Kirste

Erich Kirste (born March 31, 1927 in Heidelberg ; † December 24, 2002 ) was a German physicist.

Kirste grew up in his hometown of Heidelberg. At the age of 16 he was drafted as an air force helper in 1943, had to do the Reich Labor Service in 1944 and join the Navy at the end of the war. After a brief captivity , he studied mathematics and physics at Heidelberg University from late 1945 to 1948 . After a two-year, privately-related break from studying, he continued his studies in 1950 at the Technical University of Darmstadt in physics. In 1955 he received his physics diploma.

After graduating, Kirste first became head of the gas laboratory for electron microscopy at Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen . In 1959 he went to the German Research Foundation and took over the department for physics, astronomy and space research.

During his work in the German Research Foundation, he initially concentrated on solid-state physics , which at that time was still in its infancy. With his help, various research programs in this regard were started in the German Research Foundation in the 1960s; after all, he was also significantly involved in setting up the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. The Institute for Solid State Physics at Forschungszentrum Jülich can also be traced back to his efforts.

As a subject specialist in physics, Kirste has published in other areas as well, including strong magnetic fields and planetary research. He worked for the German Research Foundation until 1992 and received the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class for this work .

source

• Gottfried Landwehr: Obituary for Erich Kirste in Physik Journal issue 4/2003, page 56