Klaus von Klitzing (, born 28 June 1943,
Schroda) is a German physicist, known for discovery of the
integer quantum Hall effect, for which he was awarded the 1985
Nobel Prize in Physics
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
.
Education
In 1962, Klitzing passed the
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
at the
Artland-Gymnasium
The Artland-Gymnasium Quakenbrück (AGQ) is a secondary school in the Samtgemeinde Artland, Artland region for students in grades 5 to 13. The ''Gymnasium (Germany), Gymnasium'' dates back to a Latin school first mentioned in 1354, making it one ...
in
Quakenbrück
Quakenbrück (Northern Low Saxon: ''Quokenbrügge'') is a town in the Osnabrück (district), district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Ar ...
, Germany, before studying physics at the
Braunschweig University of Technology
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the No ...
, where he received his diploma in 1969. He continued his studies at the
University of Würzburg
The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...
at the chair of
Gottfried Landwehr
Gottfried Landwehr (22 August 1929 – 24 January 2013) was a German physicist.
Landwehr was born in Osnabrück and studied physics in Karlsruhe. After that he worked at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig. He was one o ...
, completing his PhD thesis entitled ''Galvanomagnetic Properties of Tellurium in Strong Magnetic Fields'' in 1972, and gaining
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in 1978.
Research and career
During his career Klitzing has worked at the
Clarendon Laboratory
The Clarendon Laboratory, located on Parks Road within the Science Area in Oxford, England (not to be confused with the Clarendon Building, also in Oxford), is part of the Department of Physics at Oxford University. It houses the atomic and ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and the Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory in France (now
LNCMI), where he continued to work until becoming a professor at the
Technical University of Munich
The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences.
Establis ...
in 1980. He has been a director of the
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research
The Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung'') was founded in 1969 and is one of the 82 Max Planck Institutes of the Max Planck Society. It is located on a campus in Stuttgart, togeth ...
in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
since 1985.
The
von Klitzing constant
The quantum Hall effect (or integer quantum Hall effect) is a quantized version of the Hall effect which is observed in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, in which the Hall resistance exhi ...
, ''R''
K = ''
h''/
e2 = is named in honor of Klaus von Klitzing's discovery of the
quantum Hall effect
The quantum Hall effect (or integer quantum Hall effect) is a quantized version of the Hall effect which is observed in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, in which the Hall resistance exh ...
, and is listed in the
National Institute of Standards and Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...
''Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty''. The inverse of the constant is equal to half the value of the
conductance quantum
The conductance quantum, denoted by the symbol , is the quantized unit of electrical conductance. It is defined by the elementary charge ''e'' and Planck constant ''h'' as:
:G_0 = \frac =
It appears when measuring the conductance of a quantum p ...
.
More recently, Klitzing's research focuses on the properties of low-dimensional electronic systems, typically in low
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
s and in high
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...
s.
Honours and awards
Von Klitzing has won numerous awards and honours including:
* 1981
Walter Schottky Prize
The Walter Schottky Prize is a scientific prize awarded by the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, German Physical Society for outstanding research work of young academics in the field of solid-state physics. Since 1973 the prize is generally awar ...
* 1982
EPS Europhysics Prize The EPS CMD Europhysics Prize is awarded (currently every 2nd year) since 1975 by the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, in recognition of recent work (completed in the 5 years preceding the attribution of the award) by one ...
* 1982
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
Prize
* 1985
Nobel Prize in Physics
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
* 1985 Directorate for life at the
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research
The Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung'') was founded in 1969 and is one of the 82 Max Planck Institutes of the Max Planck Society. It is located on a campus in Stuttgart, togeth ...
* 1986 Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...
* 1986
Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg (german: link=no, Verdienstorden des Landes Baden-Württemberg) is the highest award of the German State of Baden-Württemberg. Established 26 November 1974, it was originally called the Medal of Merit of Bad ...
* 1988 Honorary Doctorate from the
Technical University of Karl-Marx-Stadt
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data
* Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
* 1988
Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art
* 1988
Dirac Medal
The Dirac Medal is the name of four awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations, named in honour of Professor Paul Dirac, one of the great theoretical physicists of the 20 ...
* 1992 Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) from the
University of Bath
(Virgil, Georgics II)
, mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind
, established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
* 1999 Honorary Member of the
German Physical Society
The German Physical Society (German: , DPG) is the oldest organisation of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 60,547, as of 2019, making it the largest physics society in the world. It holds an annual conference () and multiple ...
*
2003 Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS)[
* 2005 ]Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
Medal of the Brunswick Scientific Society
* 2006 Honorary Doctorate of the University of Oldenburg
The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (german: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg) is a university located in Oldenburg, Germany. It is one of the most important and highly regarded educational facilities in northwestern German ...
* 2007 Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
* 2007 Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences ( it, Pontificia accademia delle scienze, la, Pontificia Academia Scientiarum) is a Academy of sciences, scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the ...
* 2009 Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system.
History
The "Austrian D ...
* 2012 Distinguished Affiliated Professor at the Technical University of Munich
The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences.
Establis ...
* 2016 Honoris Causa Doctorate of the Universidad Nacional de San Martín
* 2019 Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts
* Professor von Klitzing Strasse in Quakenbrück
Quakenbrück (Northern Low Saxon: ''Quokenbrügge'') is a town in the Osnabrück (district), district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Ar ...
and Klaus von Klitzing Strasse in Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
are named after von Klitzing
*2019 Fray International Sustainability Award given at SIPS 2019 by FLOGEN Star Outreach
References
External links
*
* including the Nobel Lecture, 9 December 1985 ''The Quantized Hall Effect''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klitzing, Klaus Von
1943 births
Living people
People from Środa Wielkopolska
University of Würzburg alumni
Technical University of Braunschweig alumni
Technical University of Munich faculty
Semiconductor physicists
Nobel laureates in Physics
21st-century German physicists
German Nobel laureates
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Max Planck Society people
Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
20th-century German physicists
Max Planck Institute directors
Fellows of the American Physical Society