Hans Berckhemer

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Prof. Hans Berckhemer (2006)

Hans Berckhemer (born January 16, 1926 in Stuttgart , † July 23, 2014 in Bad Homburg ) was a German geophysicist .

Life

He was the son of the paleontologist Fritz Berckhemer and studied physics in Stuttgart from 1946 to 1950. There he received his doctorate in 1954. He then worked as a Fulbright Fellow at the Lamont Geological Observatory at Columbia University in New York and at the Seismological Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The habilitation took place in 1961 at the University of Frankfurt . Two years later, he was appointed to the professorship in the physics of the earth's body , which Berckhemer held until his retirement in 1993. He was also active in science for several years afterwards. Since 1990 he has been a member of the Academia Europaea .

Act

Hans Berckhemer was initially involved in the development and construction of seismometers and was one of the pioneers of broadband seismology. In the 1970s he contributed to the development of the Central Seismological Observatory in Graefenberg . In seismological research, his main focus was on earthquake and fracture mechanisms and their quantification using physical parameters. In addition, investigations of the earth's crust and the upper mantle were carried out with surface waves and also with seismic refraction methods.

Berckhemer later expanded his research area to include experimental rock physics . A rock laboratory was set up for this in the mid-1970s. One of the first objects to be investigated were samples of lunar rocks obtained from the Apollo missions . The investigations were later extended to the earth's crustal and mantle rocks . In this context, Hans Berckhemer was also involved in the planning and implementation of the continental deep drilling program of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as numerous other projects.

In addition to scientific research, Berckhemer also held many offices. Among other things, he was President of the IASPEI (1975–1979), Chairman of the DGG (1979–1981) and a member of the Leopoldina . Hans Berckhemer has been an honorary member of the DGG since 2001.

literature

  • Hans Berckhemer: Fundamentals of geophysics. Science Book Society, 1990
  • Hans Berckhemer: The earth in cosmic bombardment. Steiner (Franz), 2000

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Christel Dell, Danny Weber, Thomas Wilde: Deceased members and honorary patrons . List of members and honorary patrons who died between July 31, 2013 and June 30, 2015. In: Jörg Hacker (Ed.): German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina . Structure and members. German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina eV, Halle (Saale) 2015, p. 345 ( leopoldina.org [PDF; accessed September 25, 2016]).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Berckhemer, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geophysicist
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH 23rd July 2014
Place of death bad Homburg