Georg Zundel
Encyclopedia
Georg Zundel was a German physical chemist, tenure
d professor of biophysics
at University of Munich, peace activist, environmentalist and philanthropist.
His father Georg was a painter and his mother was the daughter of the German industrialist Robert Bosch
.
As a scientist, a physicist, he achieved a worldwide reputation for hydrogen bond research. He worked closely with colleagues from both the East and the West during the Cold War.
He published 313 scientific papers during his academic career. A number of scientific discoveries in the area of hydrogen bond
s carry Zundel's name, most notably:
As an entrepreneur he founded the Berghof Laboratory of Physics and Technology in 1966, re-organised in 2003 as Zundel Holding GmbH + Co with four companies in different locations throughout Germany, active in the automation and environmental sectors.
As a philanthropist he established the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies in 1971, which soon came to play a defining role in the then-emerging field of peace research
. The Foundation's main establishments are:
In this area, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, in 2003.
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d professor of biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
at University of Munich, peace activist, environmentalist and philanthropist.
His father Georg was a painter and his mother was the daughter of the German industrialist Robert Bosch
Robert Bosch
Robert Bosch was a German industrialist, engineer and inventor, founder of Robert Bosch GmbH.-Biography:...
.
As a scientist, a physicist, he achieved a worldwide reputation for hydrogen bond research. He worked closely with colleagues from both the East and the West during the Cold War.
He published 313 scientific papers during his academic career. A number of scientific discoveries in the area of hydrogen bond
Hydrogen bond
A hydrogen bond is the attractive interaction of a hydrogen atom with an electronegative atom, such as nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine, that comes from another molecule or chemical group. The hydrogen must be covalently bonded to another electronegative atom to create the bond...
s carry Zundel's name, most notably:
- the Zundel cation (H5O2+) which is an important structure for the solvated hydrogen ionHydrogen ionHydrogen ion is recommended by IUPAC as a general term for all ions of hydrogen and its isotopes.Depending on the charge of the ion, two different classes can be distinguished: positively charged ions and negatively charged ions....
in water - Zundel polarizability, the property of hydrogen bonds to have hydrogen protonProtonThe proton is a subatomic particle with the symbol or and a positive electric charge of 1 elementary charge. One or more protons are present in the nucleus of each atom, along with neutrons. The number of protons in each atom is its atomic number....
s shifted by means of an electric fieldElectric fieldIn physics, an electric field surrounds electrically charged particles and time-varying magnetic fields. The electric field depicts the force exerted on other electrically charged objects by the electrically charged particle the field is surrounding... - Zundel continuity, the property of hydrogen bonds to absorb a wide range of ionIonAn ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
s
As an entrepreneur he founded the Berghof Laboratory of Physics and Technology in 1966, re-organised in 2003 as Zundel Holding GmbH + Co with four companies in different locations throughout Germany, active in the automation and environmental sectors.
As a philanthropist he established the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies in 1971, which soon came to play a defining role in the then-emerging field of peace research
Peace and conflict studies
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition...
. The Foundation's main establishments are:
- Berghof Conflict Research, BCR (formerly: Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, BRC), established 1993, since 1977 in partnership with the Institute for Peace Education Tübingen / Georg Zundel House
- Berghof Peace Support, BPS (Berghof Foundation for Peace Support, BFPS), established 2004.
In this area, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, in 2003.
External links
- zundel.at – website on Georg Zundel, by his son/s
- berghof-foundation.de – Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies, BFCS
- berghof-conflictresearch.org (berghof-center.org) – Berghof Conflict Research, BCR (formerly: Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, BRC)
- berghof-peacesupport.org – Berghof Peace Support, BPS (Berghof Foundation for Peace Support, BFPS)
- berghof.com – Berghof Group / Zundel Holding