Helmar Frank
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mathematician
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and pedagogist
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
. He was among the first scientists to apply mathematical methods in teaching and psychology. He established a method to measure intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
on an absolute and homogeneous scale rather than by comparison between individuals.
Frank got his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Stuttgart
University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart is a university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized in 10 faculties....
in 1959, working on the principles of an informational esthetics. From 1961 to 1963 he was a member of the research group on "learning automata" at the University of Karlsruhe. In 1963 he was appointed professor for informational sciences (later cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
) at the Pädagogische Hochschule Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(being the youngest full professor in Germany, with an age of 30) and established the Institute of Cybernetics.
In 1972 he became one of the founders of the University of Paderborn
University of Paderborn
The University of Paderborn in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany was founded in 1972. 15,228 students were enrolled at the university as of December 2010....
where he continued his work on a cybernetic theory of psychology and pedagogy. In 1985 he founded, together with Reinhard Selten
Reinhard Selten
-Life and career:Selten was born in Breslau in Lower Silesia, now in Poland, to a Jewish father, Adolf Selten, and Protestant mother, Käthe Luther. For his work in game theory, Selten won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences...
, Ivo Lapenna
Ivo Lapenna
Ivo Lapenna was a Jugoslav Professor of Law, Esperanto speaker, and President of the World Esperanto Association...
, Fabrizio Pennacchietti, Humphrey Tonkin
Humphrey Tonkin
Humphrey R. Tonkin is professor of English, president emeritus of the University of Hartford in Connecticut, and a dedicated Esperantist. Born in Truro, UK, Tonkin is a dual citizen of the U.K. and the U.S. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cambridge University and his PhD from Harvard...
, and others, the Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino
Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino
The Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino is a scientific association. It was established in 1983 and had its first convention, SUS 1, around New Year 1984 at San Marino City. After the Sammarinese skeleton law on higher education had been passed the academy was officially founded on...
(AIS), an international academy of sciences. He was its president until December 2007.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was the initiator and scientific evaluator of an international teaching experiment on the propaedeutic value of Esperanto
Propaedeutic value of Esperanto
The propaedeutic value of Esperanto is the benefit that using Esperanto as an introduction to foreign language study has on the teaching of subsequent foreign languages...
.
In 1998 he was awarded the 1st class Bundesverdienstkreuz
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
. Frank has taught as a guest or honorary professor at the Technische Universität Berlin
Technical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
and the universities of Guangzhou
Sun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University, also unofficially referred to as Zhongshan University , is a prominent university located mainly in Guangzhou, China. The University is named after Dr...
, Nitra
Nitra
Nitra is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. With a population of about 83,572, it is the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Nitra is also one of the oldest cities in Slovakia and the country's earliest political and cultural center...
, Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
, Rosario
National University of Rosario
The National University of Rosario is a research, educational and public university located in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina.-Overview:...
, and Sibiu
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
The Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu was named after the philosopher, poet, and playwright, Lucian Blaga. It was founded in 1990 with five schools: Letters, History and Law, Medicine, Food and Textile Processing Technology, Engineering and Sciences...
. He is the founder and long-time editor-in-chief of the scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft.
Frank's wife, Věra Barandovská-Frank
Vera Barandovská-Frank
Věra Barandovská-Frank is a Czech Esperantist and philologist, at La Internacia Sciencista Dokumentaro.She presented at the Universala Kongreso de Esperanto.Her husband is the philologist Helmar Frank.-Works in Esparanto:...
, is a well-known Czech Esperantist
Esperantist
An Esperantist is a person who speaks or uses Esperanto. Etymologically, an Esperantist is someone who hopes...
.