| 1 | Name: | Dr. Reimar Lüst | |
| Institution: | Max Planck Institute & University of Hamburg & Alexander von Humboldt Foundation | ||
| Year Elected: | 1999 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 106. Physics | ||
| Residency: | International | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1923 | ||
| Death Date: | March 31, 2020 | ||
Reimer Lüst received his D.Sc. at the University of Göttingen. He has served as vice president of ESRO, chairman of the German Science Council, president of the Max Planck Gesellschaft, director-general of the European Space Agency, president of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and chairman of the Board of the International University Bremen. He is currently honorary president of the last two institutions and Professor at the University of Hamburg and Professor at the Technical University of Munich. He was visiting professor at New York University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology. He is the reciepient of numerous awards, including the Theodore von Karman Award, the Marin Drinov Medal of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Harnack Medal of the Max Planck Society, the Adenauer de Gaulle Prize, and the Weizmann Award in the Humanities and Science from the Weizmann Institute, Israel. Dr. Lüst has served as Chairman of the board of trustees of the Deutsches Museum, Munich and as chairman of Humboldt Universitats-Gesellschaft. He is a member of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Academy of Sciences, Madrid, the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and the Ostereichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1999. Dr. Lüst's scientific career began with a series of research papers in plasma physics, cosmic rays, and magnetic hydrodynamics as related to thermonuclear fusion. He moved on to studies of the aurora and other aspects of planetary science. Early on, he was recognized as a very gifted science administrator and held in succession the most important directorships in European space science. When he became Director of ESA, the European Space Agency, he welded a highly successful union of all the advanced European scientific nations out of what had been a contentious, bickering community. He died on March 31, 2020, at age 97. | |||