Wolfgang Köhnlein
Wolfgang Köhnlein (born May 1, 1933 in Lauerbach (Erbach) ) is a professor emeritus of radiation biology.
Life
He studied physics and mathematics at the Universities of Karlsruhe and Heidelberg . In 1963 he was awarded a Dr. rer. nat. PhD. From 1964 to 1965 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow of the National Institutes of Health (USA) for research work at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1966 he was a research associate at the Institute for Radiation Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center . Since 1967 he has been working at the Institute for Radiation Biology at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster . He qualified as a professor in 1972 in radiation biology and biophysics . In 1974 the medical faculty of the University of Münster appointed him to a professorship for radiation biology. In 1994 he became managing director of the Institute for Radiation Biology.
The 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the USA was a key experience for him. The meltdown and the worst-case scenario there as well as the subsequent official cover-ups of the radiation effects and the persecution of the scientific and legal representatives of the victims contributed to his rejection of the use of nuclear power. His research into the effects of radioactivity on human health made him a critic of the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP). Together with the nuclear physicist Rudi H. Nussbaum (Oregon / USA), he used data from the Japanese atomic bomb survivors to demonstrate that there is a super-linear course of action in the range of low radiation doses: the effects in the range of lower radiation doses are relatively (per dose unit) higher than in the case of higher radiation doses . He tirelessly pointed out the necessary conclusions for radiation protection.
He organized numerous scientific congresses and advanced training events and gave many popular science lectures. He became a leading figure in the scientific criticism of radiation protection in Germany. After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, he made several trips to the huge contaminated area.
In 1990 Wolfgang Köhnlein was one of the founding members of the Society for Radiation Protection , which he also headed as its president from 1995 to 1999 and of which he was a member of the board until around 2009.
In 1999 he was appointed to the German Radiation Protection Commission. He was a member of this until the end of 2004. He became its Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Risk Committee of the Radiation Protection Commission.
In 2000 he was appointed by the German government as a member of the German delegation to the UNSCEAR (United Nation Scientific Committee on Atomic Radiation).
Honors
In January 2009, the then Federal President Horst Köhler Köhnlein awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Order of Merit.
Web links
See also
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Köhnlein, Wolfgang |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German chemist and radiation biologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lauerbach (Erbach) |