Heinz Oberhummer
Encyclopedia
Heinz Oberhummer is an Austria
n physicist
.
, Austria. He studied physics at the University of Graz
and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
He now lives in the village of Oberwölbling
in the Dunkelsteinerwald
, Lower Austria. Heinz Oberhummer is married and has two children.
at the Atominstitut of the Vienna University of Technology
.
His main research area is nucleosynthesis
. He is also involved in questions concerning the fine-tuning of the Universe
.
Oberhummer, Csótó und Schlattl were able to derive quantifiable results concerning the fine-tuning of the Universe by investigating the creation of carbon
and oxygen
in the triple-alpha process
in red giant
s.
He is initiator Nuclei in the Cosmos, the most important international conference series in the field of nuclear astrophysics taking place for the tenth time in the year 2008 at Michigan State University
, U.S.A.
He is especially engaged in popularisation of scientific contents including the new media
. He developed web-based learning and information systems and co-ordinates educational projects funded by the
European Commission
like Cinema and Science
.
He is also engaged in the creation and presentation of popular science with the Science Busters in the Rabenhof Theater in Vienna and as a weekly radio column and podcast in the Austrian youth radio station FM4
. Also he produces with the Science Busters scientific video clips.
He is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Giordano Bruno Foundation
and the "Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften" the Austrian branch of the worldwide Skeptics Society. Furthermore, he was president of the "Gesellschaft für Kritisches Denken", the Austrian branch of the worldwide Skeptics Society and of the Austrian "Zentralrat für Konfessionsfreie" (National Council of Non-confessionals).
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Biography
Heinz Oberhummer grew up in ObertauernObertauern
Obertauern is a famous tourist destination which is located in the “Radstädter Tauern” in the “Salzburger Land” of Austria. The very famous winter sports resort is separated in two communities: Tweng and Untertauern.-Geography:...
, Austria. He studied physics at the University of Graz
University of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
He now lives in the village of Oberwölbling
Wölbling
Wölbling is a municipality in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in Lower Austria, Austria....
in the Dunkelsteinerwald
Dunkelsteinerwald
----The Dunkelsteinerwald is a hill country south of the Danube in the Mostviertel region of Lower Austria. It is located at the shore of the Danube between Melk and Mautern, south of Krems....
, Lower Austria. Heinz Oberhummer is married and has two children.
Research fields
Heinz Oberhummer is professor emeritus of Theoretical PhysicsTheoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
at the Atominstitut of the Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology is one of the major universities in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Founded in 1815 as the "Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute" , it currently has about 26,200 students , 8 faculties and about 4,000 staff members...
.
His main research area is nucleosynthesis
Nucleosynthesis
Nucleosynthesis is the process of creating new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons . It is thought that the primordial nucleons themselves were formed from the quark–gluon plasma from the Big Bang as it cooled below two trillion degrees...
. He is also involved in questions concerning the fine-tuning of the Universe
Fine-tuned universe
The fine-tuned universe is the proposition that the conditions that allow life in the Universe can only occur when certain universal fundamental physical constants lie within a very narrow range, so that if any of several fundamental constants were only slightly different the universe would be...
.
Oberhummer, Csótó und Schlattl were able to derive quantifiable results concerning the fine-tuning of the Universe by investigating the creation of carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
and oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
in the triple-alpha process
Triple-alpha process
The triple alpha process is a set of nuclear fusion reactions by which three helium-4 nuclei are transformed into carbon.Older stars start to accumulate helium produced by the proton–proton chain reaction and the carbon–nitrogen–oxygen cycle in their cores...
in red giant
Red giant
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius immense and the surface temperature low, somewhere from 5,000 K and lower...
s.
He is initiator Nuclei in the Cosmos, the most important international conference series in the field of nuclear astrophysics taking place for the tenth time in the year 2008 at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, U.S.A.
He is especially engaged in popularisation of scientific contents including the new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
. He developed web-based learning and information systems and co-ordinates educational projects funded by the
European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
like Cinema and Science
Cinema and Science
Cinema and Science is a European educational project of the Austrian physicist Heinz Oberhummer. It is funded by the European Commissionand was awarded of being a star project...
.
He is also engaged in the creation and presentation of popular science with the Science Busters in the Rabenhof Theater in Vienna and as a weekly radio column and podcast in the Austrian youth radio station FM4
FM4
FM4 is an Austrian national radio station, operated by the ORF. Its main target is the youth audience, and much of the music output is characterised by an alternative rock and electronic music slant....
. Also he produces with the Science Busters scientific video clips.
He is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Giordano Bruno Foundation
Giordano Bruno Foundation
The Giordano Bruno Foundation is a Germany based non-profit foundation under public law that pursues the “Support of Evolutionary Humanism”. It was founded by entrepreneur Herbert Steffen in 2004 and was named after the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno who was convicted of heresy and burnt at the...
and the "Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften" the Austrian branch of the worldwide Skeptics Society. Furthermore, he was president of the "Gesellschaft für Kritisches Denken", the Austrian branch of the worldwide Skeptics Society and of the Austrian "Zentralrat für Konfessionsfreie" (National Council of Non-confessionals).
Selected publications
- Kann das alles Zufall sein - Geheimnisvolles Universum?, Ecowin-Verlag, Salzburg, 2008, ISBN 978-3-902404-54-1
- H. Oberhummer: Urknall und Sternenstaub - Der Kosmos aus naturwissenschaftlicher Sicht In Die Idee vom Anfang, Ritter Verlag, Klagenfurt, Wién, 2008, ISBN 978-3-89846-494-9
- H. Oberhummer: Maßarbeit oder Zufall - sind wir nicht anderes als Sternenstaub? In Der etwas andere Blick auf die Schöpfung, HAAG + HERRCHEN, Frankfurt in Main, 2007, ISBN 978-3-89846-494-9
- H. Oberhummer (Editor): Nuclei in the Cosmos, Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, 1991, ISBN 0-387-54198-5
- H. Oberhummer, A. Patkos, T. Rauscher: Origin of the Chemical Elements. In: Handbook of Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 2, Kap. 1, Kluwer, 2003, ISBN 1-4020-1305-1
- H. Oberhummer, A. Csótó, H. Schlattl: Stellar production rates of carbon and its abundance in the Universe, Science 289, 2000, 88
- H. Oberhummer: Kerne und Sterne: Einführung in die Nukleare Astrophysik. In German. Barth, Leipzig, Berlin, Heidelberg 1993, ISBN 3-335-00319-5