Hans Kuhn Swiss physical chemist, professor emeritus Date of Birth: 05.12.1919 Country: Switzerland

Biography of Hans Kuhn

Hans Kuhn was born on December 5, 1919, in Bern, Switzerland. He was a Swiss physicist and chemist, as well as an honorary professor of physical chemistry. He made significant contributions to the field of polymer science. Kuhn obtained his education from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, where he completed his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Werner Kuhn, a namesake. He successfully defended his dissertation in 1946.

After completing his studies, Kuhn worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Linus Pauling at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena from 1946 to 1947. Subsequently, in 1950, he joined Niels Bohr's group at the University of Copenhagen. In 1951, Kuhn became a professor at the University of Basel. In 1953, he assumed the positions of professor and director at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Marburg.

From 1970 until his retirement in 1985, Kuhn served as the director of the Molecular Systems Department at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (formerly the Max Planck Institute for Physical Chemistry) in Gottingen. Kuhn's research at the institute focused on the study of molecular systems.

Throughout his career, Kuhn had many notable students, including F. P. Schaefer, P. Fromherz, H.-D. Forsterling, W. Vogel, and D. Möbius. The Nobel laureate E. Neher also worked in the Molecular Systems Department under Kuhn's guidance.

Overall, Hans Kuhn was a highly accomplished scientist who made significant contributions to the field of physical chemistry, particularly in the study of polymers. His research and mentorship have had a lasting impact on the scientific community.