George Blasse (28 August 1934 – 30 December 2020) was a Dutch chemist. He was a professor of solid-state chemistry at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

for most of his career. Blasse was born on 28 August 1934 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. He studied chemistry at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. In 1964 he obtained his PhD under E.W. Gorter at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

with a dissertation titled: ''Chrystal chemistry and some magnetic properties of mixed metal oxides with spinel structure.'' From 1960 to 1970 Blasse was employed by the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium. In 1970 he was appointed as professor of solid-state chemistry at Utrecht University. He retired in 1996. During his career he performed research into luminescent materials. He discovered the

phosphor A phosphor is a substance that exhibits the phenomenon of luminescence; it emits light when exposed to some type of radiant energy. The term is used both for fluorescent or phosphorescent substances which glow on exposure to ultraviolet or vi ...

that made white light

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

s possible. Blasse was elected a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

in 1982. In 1992 he was awarded the Academy's Gilles Holst Medal. Blasse was elected a member of the Academia Europaea in 1993. In 1996 he was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. After his retirement he moved to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany. He died there on 30 December 2020, aged 86. After his death the '' ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology'' had a focus issue in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blasse, George 1934 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Dutch chemists Academic staff of Utrecht University Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leiden University alumni Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Scientists from Amsterdam Solid state chemists University of Amsterdam alumni