Kausch, Hans-Henning
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Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling, Hans-Henning
| Photo: | Hans-Henning Kausch |
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Hans-Henning Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling (1931–2019), born on December 1, 1931, in Hamburg, was a German-Swiss polymer scientist specializing in polymer physics, electron microscopy, micromechanics, and technical fracture mechanics.
Hans-Henning Kausch studied physics in Hamburg and Göttingen, where he earned his doctorate in 1960 with a thesis on the "scintillation light output of organic crystals".
At the beginning of his polymer career, his scientific work focused on investigating the physicochemical processes involved in mechanical and thermal ageing in order to improve the reliability of PVC and HDPE plastic pipes. This work on the micromechanics of polymer materials was continued from 1965 to 1968 as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota and as a research fellow at the California Institute of Technology, and from 1969 to 1976 at the Battelle Institute in Frankfurt.
In 1979, he was appointed full professor of polymers at the “Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Lausanne” (EPFL).
From 1979 to 1998 (when he became emeritus), the work carried out in the polymer laboratory he founded focused on researching the role of molecular chains in the mechanical behaviour of polymer materials using fracture mechanics approaches. The Lausanne work on the formation of crazes, interdiffusion at interfaces (crack healing), and the behaviour of molecular chains in highly oriented fibres and in rapidly stretched, highly diluted solutions has led to fundamental insights into the micromechanics of deformation and fracture behaviour of oriented and/or modified thermoplastic and thermosetting materials.
As a speaker and organizer of (international) conferences, Prof. Dr. Kausch has greatly stimulated cooperation between researchers working in this rapidly expanding field. His close contacts with working groups in Halle/Merseburg (Michler, Grellmann), London (Williams, Kinloch), Paris (de Gennes, Monnerie, Halary), and Ithaca (Kramer), as well as his active participation in the boards of numerous scientific organizations (chairman of the Macromolecular Physics Section of the European Physical Society, EPS) and the Swiss Polymer Group, which he co-founded, and as a member of the advisory boards of the Groupe Francais des Polymères, the Max Planck Institute for Polymers in Mainz, and the „Institut für Polymerwerkstoffe (Institute for Polymer Materials – IPW) at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, have significantly advanced the development of polymer sciences.
Due to his extensive contacts with polymer scientists in Halle and Merseburg and his numerous contributions to scientific conferences (selection), Prof. Kausch was accepted as an honorary member of the “Akademie Mitteldeutsche Kunststoffinnovationen (AMK)” foundation in 2008. He is also the namesake of the AMK Science Award, which is presented annually for excellent scientific publications in the field of polymer science and plastics technology.
In recognition of his significant contributions in the field of polymer materials and in appreciation of his services to the development of materials science, Prof. Hans-Henning Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling was awarded the academic degree of Dr. rer. nat. h.c. by the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg on October 2, 1998. Dr. rer. nat. h.c.
On the occasion of the awarding of the honorary doctorate, a special issue was published with the title
Polymere: Bemerkenswerte Entwicklungen und Erwartungen an die Zukunft (Polymers: Remarkable developments and expectations for the future)
Selected books by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. H.-H. Kausch:
Polymer Fracture Springer, New York (1978) and 2nd extended Edition (1987)
Crazing in Polymers
Advances in Polymer Science 52/53
Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg, New York (1983)
Crazing in Polymers Vol. II
Advances in Polymer Science 91/92
Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg, New York (1990)
References
- Michler, G. H., Grellmann, W., Plummer, C.: Nachruf auf Hans-Henning Kausch. Physik Journal 19 (2020) Nr. 5, S. 3 (Download as pdf)
Weblinks
- Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Katalog https://dnb.de https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=nid%3D123161983