Helmut Kopka

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Helmut Kopka (born May 2, 1932 in Dortmund ; † January 7, 2009 ) was a German physicist and non-fiction author.

Life

Kopka studied physics at the Georg-August University in Göttingen . From 1963 to 1997 Kopka was a research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy, today the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research . In the 1970s he played a key role in the planning of the shortwave facility for ionospheric research ( Ionospheric Heating facility ) in Tromsø , which later became part of the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT) .

In the 1980s, Helmut Kopka first came into contact with the TeX typesetting system during a stay in the United States . After his return, he introduced the LaTeX software package at the Max Planck Institute and developed instructions for using the system. These formed the basis of an introduction to the topic published in 1988, which was one of the first German-language treatises on LaTeX. Kopka's three-volume treatise on LaTeX, first published between 1994 and 1997, was considered a standard work.

Works (selection)

  • H. Kopka: LATEX. Vol. 1 - Introduction . 3rd, revised. Edition. Addison-Wesley, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8273-7038-8 .
  • H. Kopka: LATEX. Vol. 2 - Supplements . 3rd, revised. Edition. Addison-Wesley, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8273-7039-6 .
  • H. Kopka: LATEX. Vol. 3 - Extensions . Corrected reprint of the 2nd edition. Addison-Wesley, Munich 2002. ISBN 3-8273-7043-4 .
  • H. Kopka, PW Daly: Guide to LaTeX . 4th edition, Addison-Wesley, 2003, ISBN 978-0-321-17385-0 .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Patrick W. Daly: Helmut Kopka (1932–2009) (PDF; 5.1 MB). In: TUGboat , Volume 30 (2009), No. 1, pp. 4-5.
  2. ↑ Obituaries of Helmut Kopka (1932–2009) ( Memento from July 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). In: Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine , January 10, 12 and 16, 2009
  3. ↑ European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT): Helmut Kopka, 1932–2009. The chief designer of the Ionospheric Heating facility near Tromsø, died on 7 January 2009, aged 76 years. ( Memento from August 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Kopka, Helmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist and non-fiction author
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Dortmund
DATE OF DEATH January 7, 2009