Werner Kern (chemist)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Werner Josef Kern (born February 9, 1906 in Tiengen, today part of Waldshut-Tiengen , † January 18, 1985 ) was a German chemist.

Life

The son of the notary and senior judicial councilor Konrad Kern jun. and his wife Anna Maria Theresia Haungs studied chemistry and physics in Freiburg and Heidelberg from 1924 to 1928. The doctorate took place in 1930 with Hermann Staudinger with the work on polyoxymethylene, a model of cellulose , followed by the habilitation on polyacrylic acid, a model of protein . From 1939 to 1945 he worked for the plastics department of Farbwerke Hoechst , before he worked as a private lecturer in Freiburg from 1945.

In 1946 he was appointed professor at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, where he retired in 1974. In 1971, together with Günter Victor Schulz, Kern was the first winner of the Hermann Staudinger Prize of the GDCh .

Kern is considered one of the most important pioneers in the field of preparative macromolecular chemistry . His work in the field of formaldehyde polymers laid the basis for industrial polymers such as Hoechst's Hostaform C. In an article from 1938 on cross-linking copolymerization of acrylic acid with divinyl compounds, Kern laid the foundation for the technology of products known today as " superabsorbents ", which are widely used in baby diapers , for example .

Werner Kern married Elfriede Berta Baier in Karlsruhe in 1935. She was the daughter of the archive director and secretary of the Baden Historical Commission Dr. Hermann Baier and Frieda Baumann.

His grandfather Konrad Kern sen. 1871–1877 was mayor of Bühlertal . His son Herbert Kern (born 1944) was a senior teacher in Horb am Neckar . His grandson Timm Kern is also a senior teacher and has been a member of the FDP / DVP parliamentary group in Stuttgart since 2011 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ News from Chemistry, 8/2006, 754
  2. ^ A b Society of German Chemists: Angewandte Chemie, Volume 78 , Verlag Chemie, 1966, p. 72
  3. ↑ a b Kern, Werner (1906-1985), Polymerchemiker from August 21, 2014 on kipnis.de, accessed on October 1, 2015
  4. ↑ Biographies, publications and academic family tree of Werner Joseph Kern at academictree.org, accessed on February 15, 2018.
  5. ↑ Baier, Hermann on leo-bw.de, accessed on October 1, 2015
  6. ↑ a b Clear principles, fine humor - Herbert Kern on schwarzwaelder-bote.de, article from March 6, 2014, accessed on October 1, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Kern, Werner
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kern, Werner Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist
DATE OF BIRTH February 9, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Tiengen, today part of Waldshut-Tiengen
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1985