Roland Wiesendanger

Roland Wiesendanger during the awarding of the Julius Springer Prize 2016

Roland Wiesendanger (born 5 October 1961 in Basel) is a German physicist, specializing in nanoscience. Since 1993 he has been a full professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany.[1]

He has been awarded three times in a row with the ERC Advanced Grant of the European Research Council as first scientist in Europe.[2]

Early life and education

According to the CV published on his department website, Wiesendanger was born in Basel.[3]

He grew up in Lörrach, Germany, where he attended high-school, the Hans-Thoma-Gymnasium from 1972[citation needed] to 1981.[3] He started studying physics, mathematics, and astronomy[citation needed] at the University of Basel, Switzerland in 1981.[3] Since 1984 he had been working in the field of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.[citation needed] In 1986, he graduated in physics with highest distinction[3] and in 1987, he received his PhD with "summa cum laude" in experimental physics[3] for his work on "Scanning Tunneling Microscopy on Non-Crystalline Solids".[citation needed]

Career

Until his Habilitation degree in 1990, he set up a unique Surface Science Instrument ("NANOLAB-I") which allowed for the simultaneous investigation of the structure, electronic and magnetic properties of surfaces at the atomic scale.[citation needed]

In 1992 Wiesendanger received an offer for a full professor position for Experimental Physics at the University of Hamburg, connected with the Foundation of the Microstructure Advanced Research Center Hamburg. He established a National Center of Competence in Nanotechnology.[citation needed]

Work

Wiesendanger is author or co-author of more than 600 scientific publications as well as several books.

In February 2021, he released a working paper and preprint, non-peer-reviewed publication suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 had escaped from a lab in Wuhan, a story which was picked up by many German news services including TV.[4] Wiesendanger himself does not see his "study" as a formal scientific publication, but it "is intended to serve as information for a broad public in Germany".[5]

Memberships and service

Since 2000 Wiesendanger is a member of the National Academy Leopoldina, since 2005 member of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg, and since 2008 member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). In 2012 he became Honorary Professor of the Harbin Institute of Technology (China) and in 2015 he received an Honorary Doctor degree from the Poznań University of Technology (Poland).

He has organized numerous international conferences like the International Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM’97) Conference in Hamburg (1997) or the 1st Otto Stern Symposium in Hamburg (2013). He has been a speaker at more than 500 international conferences, workshops and colloquia worldwide.

Selected awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Prof. Dr. Roland Wiesendanger: Nanostruktur- und Festkörperphysik: Universität Hamburg". physik.uni-hamburg.de (in German). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. ^ "2,5 Millionen Euro für neue Quantencomputer-Konzepte: Physikprofessor der Universität Hamburg zum dritten Mal bei europäischem Exzellenz-Wettbewerb erfolgreich". uni-hamburg.de (in German). 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "CV of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Roland Wiesendanger" (PDF). nanoscience.de. n.d.
  4. ^ "Hamburger Forscher: Coronavirus stammt wohl aus Labor". Norddeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 18 February 2021.
  5. ^ Lars Wienand: Der Physikprofessor, Wuhan und die Biowaffen. Telefoninterview T-Online, 20. Februar 2021.
  6. ^ List of prize winners. Website of Gaede Prize. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  7. ^ Hamburger Physiker wird Max-Auwärter-Preis verliehen. Press release nanoscience.de. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  8. ^ List of prize winners. Website of Karl Heinz Beckurts-Prize. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  9. ^ List of members. Website of Leopldina. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  10. ^ List of prize winners 2007. Website of Philip Morris Research Prize. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  11. ^ Physikprofessor der Universität Hamburg bei europäischer Exzellenzinitiative erfolgreich. Press release of the University of Hamburg. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  12. ^ Wiesendanger erhält Ehrenprofessur von chinesischer Elite-Uni. Press release on pro-physik.de. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  13. ^ Prof. Roland Wiesendanger received an honorary doctorate from Poznań University of Technology. Press release on scienceinpoland.pap.pl. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  14. ^ Prof. Dr. Roland Wiesendanger erneut bei europäischer Exzellenzinitiative erfolgreich. Press release of the University of Hamburg. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  15. ^ Erster internationaler Heinrich Rohrer Preis geht an Professor Roland Wiesendanger. Press release of the University of Hamburg. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  16. ^ An honorary doctorate degree for a specialist in nanotechnology. Press release of Poznan. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  17. ^ Hamburger Wissenschaftspreis 2015: 100.000 Euro für Physikprofessor Roland Wiesendanger. Press release of the University of Hamburg. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  18. ^ Der Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics 2016 geht an Roland Wiesendanger und Xiang Zhang. Press release of Springer. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  19. ^ Physikprofessor der Universität Hamburg zum dritten Mal bei europäischem Exzellenz-Wettbewerb erfolgreich. Press release of the University of Hamburg. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  20. ^ Honorary Medal an Roland Wiesendanger verliehen. Press release of the University of Hamburg. retrieved on 26 August 2019.
  • Literature from and about Roland Wiesendanger
  • Website of the research group of Roland Wiesendanger (http://www.nanoscience.de)