Willibald Riedler

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Willibald Riedler, also Willi Riedler, (born September 1, 1932 in Vienna ; † January 24, 2018 in Graz ) was an Austrian communications engineer and space scientist. From 1975 to 1977 he was rector of the Graz University of Technology and from 1984 to 2001 director of the Institute for Space Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Graz.

Life

Willibald Riedler attended the primary school Zieglergasse in Vienna- Neubau and then the secondary school and secondary school Vienna 7 in Neustiftgasse ( Schottenfelder Realschule ). His uncle was the musician Willi Boskovsky . During the Second World War , Willibald Riedler also visited the school in Zwettl temporarily . After graduating from high school in 1950, he studied communications engineering (at that time still low-voltage technology ) at the Vienna University of Technology , graduating in 1956 as a graduate engineer . He then worked as an assistant at the Institute for High Frequency Technology at the Vienna University of Technology until 1962 . In 1961 he received his doctorate as Dr. techn. , At the University of Vienna , he studied meteorology and geophysics and a PhD in 1966 for Dr. phil. His teachers included Rudolf Inzinger (mathematics), Ferdinand Steinhauser (meteorology), Berta Karlik (nuclear physics) and Hubert Rohracher (Philosophicum). From 1962 to 1969 he worked at the Geophysical Observatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Kiruna , where he was, among other things, a consultant to the European Space Research Organization (ESRO).

In 1968 he was appointed full professor at the newly founded Institute for Telecommunications and Wave Propagation at the Graz University of Technology , where he stayed until his retirement in 2000. From 1973 to 1975 he was dean of the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at the Graz University of Technology . From 1975 to 1977 he was elected rector of the Graz University of Technology and a member of the presidential committee of the Austrian rectors' conference . From 1978 to 2002 he was also head of the Institute for Applied System Technology at the Joanneum Research Association .

In 1970 the general meeting of the Austrian Academy of Sciences decided to found the Institute for Space Research . In 1974/75 Otto Burkard became managing director, Willibald Riedler was initially deputy director, and in 1984 he was appointed managing director. In 2001, Wolfgang Baumjohann succeeded Willibald Riedler as head of department, and Hans Sünkel was appointed managing director.

Willibald Riedler published around 130 scientific papers in the fields of communications engineering , magnetospheric and ionospheric physics, and the physics of interplanetary space . Under his direction, measuring devices were developed that were used on board international altitude research and stratospheric balloons as well as on probes in interplanetary space. In 1984 he organized the congress of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) in Graz with around 1300 participants. He was also involved in setting up the Graz-Lustbühel satellite station . In 1991 he was the scientific director of the Soviet-Austrian space project Austromir 91 with Franz Viehböck as the first Austrian in space. Together with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz , he reintroduced the sound engineering degree.

Willibald Riedler died in January 2018 at the age of 85.

Awards (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Austromir director Willibald Riedler died at the age of 85. On: derStandard.at. January 25, 2018, accessed on January 25, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Space pioneer Willibald Riedler dead. On: ORF.at. January 25, 2018, accessed on January 25, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b Interview with the natural scientist Willibald Riedler - 1st part . Interview from July 26, 2002, accessed June 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ diepresse.com: "The fact that everything was successful also cost a lot of nerves" . Article dated September 30, 2016, accessed June 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ a b c d Entry on Willibald Riedler in the Austria Forum .
  6. ↑ a b OeAW mourns Willibald Riedler. On: OeAW.ac.at. January 25, 2018, accessed on January 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ a b story. On: IWF.OeAW.ac.at. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Graz “Space Pope” Willibald Riedler has passed away. On: KleineZeitung.at. January 25, 2018, accessed on January 25, 2018.
  9. ^ Great decorations and decorations of the state of Styria for science, research and the arts . Article dated May 4, 2017, accessed May 26, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Riedler, Willibald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Riedler, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian communications engineer and space scientist
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 2018
Place of death Graz