Paul Kintner

Paul Marvin Kintner Jr. (Born July 11, 1946 in Illinois , † November 16, 2010 in Ithaca , New York ) was an American geophysicist . His focus was on researching the phenomena of space weather , cosmic rays and the northern lights . He was a pioneer in exploring the northern lights.

Life

Kintner was the son of Paul Marvin Kintner, sr. (1920-2013). As a doctor of physics, he worked at General Electric , among others , and was one of the leading pioneers of early computer electronics research in the USA. Paul Kintner Jr. studied physics from 1968 at the University of Rochester ; he received his doctorate in plasma physics and the interrelationships in relation to the northern lights from the University of Minnesota in 1974. Since 1976 he worked at Cornell University in Ithaca: until 1981 first as a lecturer and research assistant, between 1981 and 1991 as an honorary professor and then ab 1991, as a full professor for electrical engineering and computer construction.

He founded the scientific research center for GPS technology at Cornell University in 1998. In 2001 and 2002 he was primarily responsible for the NASA program "Nasa-Living with a star / Geospace Mission Definition Team" .

Between 2009 and 2010, he was the US State Department's Jefferson Science Fellow as the US President's National and Military Security Advisor on the Dangers of Space Weather, GPS and Northern Lights to US President Barack Obama and the relevant departments.

Kintner was a member of important scientific academies in the USA, such as the American Geophysical Union , honorary member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , and a fellow of the American Physical Society .

In Germany, Kintner was seen as a scientist in the documentary " Mysterious Northern Lights ", which was filmed in 2008, two years before his death. It also alleged that a missile accidentally misdirected by Kintner nearly triggered World War III in the mid-1990s.

Paul Kintner was married twice and had four children. He died of pancreatic cancer on November 16, 2010 at his home in Ithaca .

research

Kintner did extensive research. His main focus was on the research of space weather in the ionosphere and magnetosphere , its effects on the earth and on GPS systems, and he was a world-renowned researcher in the field of research into the aurora borealis, where he worked with specially developed satellites and radar systems and GPS Devices tried to track down the phenomenon of the auroras, for example their formation. He developed many GPS systems for rockets and satellites that are used around the world to record and explore the earth's atmosphere. Research into radio signals - human and non-human-made - from space was also part of his scientific work.

He was also a pioneer in the measurement of plasma waves in space and wave-particle interactions. He worked as author and co-author on the creation of more than 180 publications - books and articles.

Despite his importance in the field of geophysics, polar light research and space weather research, Kintner remained rather a quiet representative of his subject during his lifetime, which did not devote himself to popular science .

Work (selection)

• Electronical Digital Techniques, 1968.
• Midlatitude Ionospherica Dynamics and Disturbances, 2008.

Web links

• Obituary at Cornell University