„Heinrich Hertz“ worked from 1889 until his early death in 1894 as a professor at the University of Bonn. Before coming to Bonn, Hertz had already demonstrated the existence of electromagnetic waves experimentally and therewith proved the "Maxwell equations" of electromagnetic theory.
These equations, unchanged to this day, are known
as the basics of the description of all electrical and magnetical
phenomena. |
 |
But
also on other fields of physics Hertz made important contributions:
His discovery of the "photoelectric effect", the emission of
electrons from metals illuminated by short-wavelength light, was essential
for the development of quantum optics, which is together with wave optics a
complementary description of "light".
The name "Heinrich Hertz Chair" shows that in our new group the tradition of Hertz will be continued: Fields of research are Applied Optics in connection with Solid State Physics. Even 100 years after the death of Hertz this field is still full of undiscovered important and exciting effects. Optics is the key technology of the new century to acquire, to transmit, to store, and to display information.
The chair is supported by the German Telekom AG. This involvement of the German Telekom AG has good reasons:
Initiation of a funding culture in Germany – It is still unusual in Germany that companies or private parties sponsor universities. This is a serious drawback of our society compared to, e.g., the US. Sponsoring makes universities competitive, helps to cover applied subjects and builds close relationships to partners in industry. As one of the largest German companies, the Germany Telekom AG sees a responsibility to support science and education. This is part of their general commitment to society.
Stimulation of students to found start-ups – After graduation students in Germany are typically looking for employment rather then to become president of their own company. We need more high-tech start-ups. Diploma works and PhD theses that are rather applied allow the graduates of the Heinrich-Hertz group to start an own business.
Education of qualified personnel – The German Telekom looks continuously for qualified personnel. Interested graduates of the Heinrich-Hertz group might be employed by the German Telekom.
Development of new technologies and applications - Research of the Heinrich-Hertz-group may lead to applications that can be used directly by the German Telekom AG. Then Deutsche Telekom AG has special rights for licensing and using these results. But research is not governed by the sponsor. We have the full independence of research that characterizes work at universities. Such independence is essential to explore really new matter rather than to follow scheduled roadmaps. Only in such a way real breakthroughs can be made.
Consulting - Deutsche Telekom AG has plenty of know-how through its own research capacities. Nevertheless, it is useful to have independent but loyal consultants. For services like this the Heinrich-Hertz-group is available, too.
