Walter Dieminger, (July 7, 1907 – September 29, 2000) was a German

space scientist The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science: Space science – field that encompasses all of the branches of science, scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study nat ...

and director of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy from 1955 to 1975. Dieminger's research was focused on the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

Life and work

Dieminger studied physics between 1926 and 1935 at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

. After receiving his Ph.D. for work on

electromagnetic wave In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength, ...

s and the ionosphere with

Jonathan Zenneck Jonathan Adolf Wilhelm Zenneck (; ; 15 April 1871 – 8 April 1959) was a German physicist and electrical engineer. Zenneck improved the cathode-ray tube by adding a second deflection structure at right angles to the first, which allowed two-di ...

, he worked at the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (German Experimental Institute for Aviation). With his focus on research of the ionosphere and electromagnetic waves at his new institute, called the Zentralstelle für Funkberatung (Central Counseling Office for Radio Communication). Applying a code invented by his cooperator

Karl Rawer Professor Rawer at his 104th birthday in 2017 Karl Maria Alois Rawer (19 April 1913 – 17 April 2018) was a German specialist in radio wave propagation and the ionosphere. He developed the analytical code to determine suitable frequency ranges f ...

he was able to make predictions on

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

communication for the military and the police. The institute at

Leobersdorf Leobersdorf is a town in the Baden (district of Austria), Baden district of Lower Austria, Austria. History Early settlements First indices of settlement in the area date back to 3000 BC. Around 350 BC Celtic settlers found Noricum, from their ...

continued to monitor the ionosphere until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A group of British physicists supervised the dissolution of the institute. The ionospheric physicist William Roy Piggott opposed the dissolution and managed to transfer most of its scientists and equipment to Lindau am Harz in the British sector of Germany. This research institute became later, after several name changes, the Max Planck Institute for Ionospheric Research in 1948. Dieminger became the director of the institute in 1951, which was renamed the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy in 1958. He continued his research of the upper atmosphere and was able to participate in several international collaborations. For example, he established a station for ionospheric observations in

Tsumeb Tsumeb (; ) is a city of around 35,000 inhabitants and the largest town in the Oshikoto Region, Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb, since its founding in 1905, has been primarily a mining town. The town is the site of a deep mine (the ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and cooperated with the Finnish

EISCAT EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association) operates three incoherent scatter radar systems in Northern Scandinavia and Svalbard. The facilities are used to study the interaction between the Sun and the Earth as revealed by dist ...

facility in

Sodankylä Sodankylä (; ; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring mun ...

. Dieminger was one of the most active scientists in the

International Union of Radio Science The International Union of Radio Science (abbreviated ''URSI'', after its French name, ) is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science (ICSU). History and objectives URSI was officially cr ...

(URSI): Vice-President 1963-69, President 1969-72. He retired in 1975 but continued with his research. He died in 2000 in

Northeim Northeim (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the Northeim (district), district of Northeim, with a population of 30,118 as of 31 December 2023. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in ...

Honors

Dieminger was a member of several academic societies including the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is a Paris-based non-government association for the field of astronautics. It was founded in Stockholm, Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán. It was recognised by the United Nation ...

and the

Finnish Academy of Sciences The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (; ) is a Finnish learned society. It was founded in 1908 and is thus the second oldest academy in Finland. The oldest is the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, which was founded in 1838. Member ...

. He was made an honorary citizen of Katlenbug-Lindau in 1975 and received the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

in 1975.

References

External links

* Complete list of publications {{DEFAULTSORT:Dieminger, Walter 1907 births 2000 deaths 20th-century German physicists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Max Planck Institute directors