Walther Burchard

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Walther Burchard (born May 15, 1930 in Posen ) is a German physicist , chemist and university professor.

Life

Walther Burchard grew up in Posen and East Prussia and fled to Detmold with the family under difficult circumstances in early 1945 . There he finished school and began studying physics in Marburg . He finished this in Freiburg with a diploma thesis in nuclear physics . Then (in 1956) he joined the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Freiburg and researched polymers under its director Elfriede Husemann , the successor to Hermann Staudinger , and received his doctorate in 1960 with the topic of comparative structural analysis of carbanilates of cellulose and amylose in solutions

He has been married since 1961. His two daughters are also scientifically active.

Research areas

Burchard is a pioneer in applying the light scattering method to large molecules. In 1966 he completed his habilitation with the work investigations on polyvinylpyrrolidone in solution . Years of collaboration and friendship linked him to Walter H. Stockmayer , together they worked out the basics of dynamic light scattering , with the help of which they could research chain-like and branched polymers.

His research in the field of biophysical chemistry is an example of interdisciplinary work . He dealt with the structure of synthetically produced molecules as well as naturally occurring bio-polymers such as starch and fibrin . One of his students is Manfred Schmidt .

Walther Burchard is an IUPAC member. He is the author of over 250 specialist articles. In 1995 he retired, but is still active.

Works (selection)

  • Light scattering from polymers (with GD Patterson), Berlin 1983, ISBN 978-3-662-15740-4
  • Polysaccharides. Properties and use. An introduction. (as editor), Berlin 1984, ISBN 978-3-540-13931-7
  • Biological Networks, Part I and II, Chemistry in Our Time, Volume 23 (1989) pp 37-45 and 69-75

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ K. Huber et al. a .: "Tribute to Walther Burchard", Macromolecules Vol. 38 (2005) pp 5357-5358
  2. ^ Biographical data, publications and academic family tree of Walther Burchard at academictree.org, accessed on January 22, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Burchard, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist, chemist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Poses