Egbert Kankeleit (16 April 1929 in Hamburg, Germany – 23 December 2022 in Darmstadt) was a German

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

. He was the son of Otto Kankeleit and Margarete Kankeleit (née Holl).

Education

Egbert Kankeleit studied nuclear physics in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and earned his doctorate in 1961 as one of Heinz Maier-Leibniz’s group. After that he went to

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

in the role of Senior Research Fellow. From there he followed a call to TH Darmstadt, where he remained until his retirement in 1997.

Studies

The

Mössbauer spectroscopy Mössbauer spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique based on the Mössbauer effect. This effect, discovered by Rudolf Mössbauer (sometimes written "Moessbauer", German: "Mößbauer") in 1958, consists of the nearly recoil-free emission and abs ...

had a particular influence on his scientific work. He was the founder of the conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (Konversionselektronen-Mößbauer-Spektroskopie), which he first deployed in the field of nuclear physics (nuclear moments) and later increasingly in the field of materials science (

isomeric shift The isomeric shift (also called isomer shift) is the shift on atomic spectral lines and gamma spectral lines, which occurs as a consequence of replacement of one nuclear isomer by another. It is usually called isomeric shift on atomic spectral line ...

s). The study of muonic atoms at CERN, as well as parity violation during

gamma decay A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically sh ...

and

positron The positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. It has an electric charge of +1 '' e'', a spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same mass as an electron. When a positron collide ...

research at the Society for Heavy Ion Research (GSI: Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung) also belonged to the central aspects of his research. The miniaturised Mössbauer spectrometer (MIMOS) was developed in Egbert Kankeleit’s team and was successfully deployed during the recent Mars missions.

Teams and awards

The interdisciplinary Team of Natural Science, Technology and Security (IANUS) was brought into being by Egbert Kankeleit together with colleagues from other faculties. Based on scientific and technological themes which formed the backbone of the team, IANUS also illuminated ethical questions, such as those concerning the role and responsibility of scientists in the

Atomic Age The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, The Gadget at the '' Trinity'' test in New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, during World War II. Although nuclear chain reac ...

. In the framework of peace and conflict studies, IANUS concerns itself with questions such as the non-proliferation of nuclear materials. The group was awarded the Götting Peace Prize (Göttinger Friedenspreis) in 2000.

References

External links

TUD intern, Zeitung der Technischen Universität Darmstadt
(PDF-Datei; 4,22 MB)
Mössbauer-Antrieb und Verstärker im Deutschen Museum Bonn

Mars Moessbauer Group, Universität Mainz

Unberücksichtigte Risiken auf dem Risikopfad
(PDF-Datei; 150 kB)

Bericht zur Waffentauglichkeit von Reaktorplutonium
(PDF-Datei; 820 kB) * photo of Egbert Kankeleit 2011 * Egbert Kankeleit {{DEFAULTSORT:Kankeleit, Egbert German nuclear physicists 1929 births Living people People associated with CERN Fellows of the American Physical Society