Editorial

doi:10.1515/ijmr-2002-0162

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Editorial

Published/Copyright: February 12, 2022

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From the journal International Journal of Materials Research Volume 93 Issue 10

Helmut Kronmüller 70 Years

This issue of Zeitschrift für Metallkunde is dedicated to Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Helmut Kronmüller on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Helmut Kronmüller was born on 21^st November 1932 in Schwaikheim northeast of Stuttgart. He studied physics at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart and received his doctoral degree in 1958. Afterwards he was employed as researcher at the Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung. In 1966 Helmut Kronmüller made his Habilitation in Physik at the Universität Stuttgart, which was published as a book entitled “Nachwirkung in Ferromagnetika” in Springer-Verlag. Honouring this work he received the Physikpreis of the German Physical Society in 1968. In 1970 he became scientific member of the Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung. His teaching engagement at the Universität Stuttgart was honoured by a professorship in 1972. For this scientific achievements he was honoured with the Heyn Medal of the DGM in 1992.

The research activity of Professor Kronmüller has always been extremely broad, ranging from fundamental questions in theory and experiment up to problems closely related to technical applications. The major aim was to understand the relationship between the microstructure of materials and their physical properties. His research topics include intrinsic defects and plasticity in metals, self-diffusion and diffusion of interstitials in metals and alloys, soft and hard magnetic materials, superconductivity, amorphous and quasicrystalline alloys and many others. The successful work of Professor Kronmüller to achieve a complete experimental and theoretical understanding may be characterised by two special ways. Firstly, he developed new non-standard experimental techniques and new theoretical simulation methods in his department which enabled new and very valuable insights leading his research ahead of other groups. Secondly, he established long term connections and collaborations with scientific friends, former guests and students which led to very prosperous research activities in many fields.

The contributions of this special issue may give an impression – of course by no way complete – of the broadness of Professor Kronmüller’s research activity and interest. Furthermore, the contributions are given by his scientific friends, former foreign guests and students from many different countries representing – again very incomplete – the large number of his international relationships. The first paper on modern magnetic thin-film materials is given by the group of his successor, Professor Gisela Schütz. In the following the issue covers a wide spectrum of physics and materials science, starting with modern magnetic materials continued by micromagnetic calculations, soft and hard magnetic materials, critical phenomena, superconductivity, and finally up to diffusion and relaxation processes.

The colleagues and friends congratulate Professor Kronmüller and wish him further success in his still continuing research activities.

Michael Hirscher, Stuttgart

Published Online: 2022-02-12

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijmr-2002-0162