Günther Landgraf (14 September 1928 in Kryry – 12 January 2006 in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

) was a German

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and, from 1990 till 1994, President of

Technische Universität Dresden TU Dresden (for , abbreviated as TUD), also as the Dresden University of Technology, is a public research university in Dresden, Germany. It is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony a ...

. Günther Landgraf was born in Kryry, in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). He came to Dresden in 1938 and studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. Landgraf graduated in fatigue strength science at the Technische Hochschule Dresden in 1952 and received his Ph.D. in 1961 and

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

at the renamed Technische Universität Dresden in 1969. 1970 he was appointed to Professor for theory of plasticity at the Dresden University of Technology. Landgraf was the first free elected President of the Dresden University of Technology in 1990. He received the status of a full university. Landgraf did not cease work after his retirement in 1996 and came daily for several hours in the office. He wrote far appraisals and specialized books. In addition he was since 1991 scientific director of the created institute "European Institute for postgraduate Studies at the University of Technology at Dresden" (EIPOS). Up until his illness, Günther Landgraf also took care of over 70 graduate students. He is buried in the Trinity Cemetery in Dresden.

Honors

* 1997 honorary senator of the

* 1994 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ("

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

") * 1990 honorary doctor of the

Chemnitz University of Technology Chemnitz University of Technology () is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With around 8,300 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as ''Königliche Gewerbschule'' (Royal Mercantile College) and ...

* 1978 National Prize of the German Democratic Republic

References

External links

Obituaries TU Dresden
1928 births 2006 deaths 20th-century German physicists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany TU Dresden alumni People from Louny District Sudeten German people {{Germany-scientist-stub