Ernst Niggli
Ernst Heinrich Niggli (born September 29, 1917 in Wald ZH ; † December 7, 2001 in Bern ) was a Swiss mineralogist and petrologist.
biography
Niggli, the son of the mineralogist and crystallographer Paul Niggli , studied natural sciences with a specialization in geology at the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich after graduating from high school in 1936 . From 1942 he was a research assistant at the geophysical institute of the ETH. He received his doctorate in 1944 from the ETH with a thesis on the geology of the Tavetsch intermediate massif and completed his habilitation in 1946. From 1946 he was professor of mineralogy and petrography at the University of Leiden and from 1955 at the University of Bern . In Bern he expanded the Mineralogical-Petrographic Institute and established isotope geology and experimental petrology. He was temporarily dean of the faculty of philosophy and natural sciences. In 1986 he retired.
In particular, he researched metamorphosis in the Alps. He was involved in founding the Lengenbach working group to explore the Lengenbach mine in the Binn valley .
From 1977 to 1987 he was Research Councilor for Earth Sciences at the Swiss National Science Foundation. In this function he was responsible for the implementation of the national Swiss research program Geological Deep Structure in Switzerland (started in 1983, other initiators were Stephan Müller , Peter Fricker , Rudolf Trümpy ). From 1957 to 1987 he was managing director of the study society for the utilization of Swiss metallic and mineral raw materials.
He was an honorary doctor of the University of Geneva (1990) and honorary member of the Austrian Mineralogical Society . In 1987 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina . Since 1947 he was married to the Dutchwoman Johanna Wilhelmina Stoffel.
The mineral Erniggliit is named after him.
Web links
- Biography of Tjerk Peters, Bull. Applied Geology, Volume 7, 2002, pdf
- Walter F. Oberholzer: Ernst Niggli. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Niggli, Ernst |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Niggli, Ernst Heinrich |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss mineralogist and petrologist |
DATE OF BIRTH | September 29, 1917 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Forest ZH |
DATE OF DEATH | December 7, 2001 |
Place of death | Bern |