Ernst K. Zinner
Ernst Kunibert Zinner (born January 30, 1937 in Steyr , Austria ; † July 30, 2015 in St. Louis , USA ) was an Austrian astrophysicist .
Scientific career
Ernst Kunibert Zinner was a son of the sculptor Kunibert Zinner . He grew up in St. Peter in der Au , studied physics at the Technical University of Vienna, where he graduated with a diploma. In 1965 he went to Washington University in St. Louis , where he received his doctorate in particle physics in 1972 . In the same year he was appointed by Robert M. Walker (1929-2004) to the newly founded research laboratory for space physics in St. Louis, later the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences . There he received a professorship for space physics in 1989, which he held until his retirement in 2015. In total, Zinner was scientifically active for more than 50 years. His most important works include:
- The identification of matter from the beginnings of the solar system
- The discovery of the importance of stardust in meteorites
- New insights into the evolution of stars and space through new measurement methods such as the application of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)
Private
During a sabbatical year in Vienna in 1980, he met the chemist Brigitte Wopenka, whom he married in St. Louis. The marriage produced a son. Both researched space physics together for 30 years. Zinner was also a recognized pianist and cellist. He suffered from mantle cell lymphoma for the last few years . After his death in 2015 he was buried in Austria.
Honors and memberships
- 1987 Antarctic Service Medal, National Science Foundation
- 1990 Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 1997 J. Lawrence Smith Medal , National Academy of Sciences
- 1997 Leonard Medal of the Meteoritical Society
- 2010 Merle A. Tuve Fellow of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
- 2011 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
swell
- Diana Lutz: Ernst K. Zinner, astrophysicist and cosmochemist, 78, in: Newsroom, Washington University in St. Louis, Aug. 6. 2015
- Calvin Wilson: Ernst K. Zinner, an astrophysicist who studied stardust, in: stltoday.com, Aug.08.2015
- Ernst K. Zinner, astrophysicist a. Cosmochemist, (edited by Daniel Brandstetter) i. Community news St.Peter-in-der-Au ( http://www.stpeterau.at/?menu=38&lang=1 )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zinner, Ernst K. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zinner, Ernst Kunibert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian astrophysicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 30, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Peter in der Au , Austria |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 30, 2015 |
| Place of death | St. Louis , USA |