Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Hilbert von Löhneysen (d. April 29, 2026)

Prof. Dr. Hilbert von Löhneysen passed away on April 29, 2026, at the age of 79. For three decades, from 1986 to 2016, he served as a professor of physics at the Institute of Physics at the University of Karlsruhe, now known as KIT. 

After studying physics at the University of Göttingen, Hilbert von Löhneysen earned his doctorate from the University of Cologne in 1976. Following a postdoctoral position at the CNRS Laboratory of Low-Temperature Physics in Grenoble, he completed his habilitation in Aachen in 1981 and became a Privatdozent and acting chair there. Starting in 1986, he was a university professor at the University of Karlsruhe (now KIT). In addition to his teaching and research activities, Hilbert von Löhneysen served as dean of the Faculty of Physics at the University of Karlsruhe from 1992 to 1994 and was director of the Institute of Solid State Physics at KIT from 2000 to 2016. His research focused primarily on strongly correlated electron systems, novel magnetic quantum phase transitions, and metallic nanostructures. A particular achievement for him and his research team was the measurement of current flow through individual molecules. For decades, he shaped the research landscape of experimental solid-state physics, for which he achieved a high degree of renown and recognition both nationally and internationally. 

As early as 1983, Hilbert von Löhneysen received thePrize for his scientific work. In 2011, he was awarded the Hector Science Prize and thus became a member of the Hector Fellow Academy. He was also a full member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities beginning in 2001 Academy of Sciences and Humanities a member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering starting in 2006. Between 2006 and 2012, Hilbert von Löhneysen was also a member of the German Science Council and, from 2010 to 2012, chairman of the Scientific Commission.