Michael C. F. Wiescher (born 1949 in
Wuppertal) is a German-American experimental nuclear physicist and astrophysicist,[1] known for his laboratory research in nuclear physics connected with various astrophysical phenomena such as stellar evolution and explosion environments.[2][3][4]
Education and career
Wiescher completed in 1969 his Abitur at Gymnasium
Münchberg in
Bavaria. At the
University of Münster, he graduated in 1972 with
Vordiplom in physics, in 1975 with Diplom in solid state physics, and in 1980 with doctorate (summa cum laude) in nuclear physics. His doctoral dissertation entitled Measurement of the Reactions in the CNO Cycles was supervised by
Claus Rolfs. As a post-doc Wiescher was from 1980 to 1983 at the
Ohio State University, from 1983 to 1985 under the supervision of
Karl-Ludwig Kratz at the
University of Mainz, and from 1985 to 1986 at
Caltech's Kellogg Radiation Laboratory. At the
University of Notre Dame he was from 1986 to 1990 an assistant professor, from 1990 to 1993, and from 1993 to 1998 a full professor, before his appointment as Freimann Professor of Physics in 1998. In addition to his Freimann Professorship, he is now the director of the
Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) at the University of Notre Dame, the
Michigan State University and the
University of Chicago. He is also an adjunct professor at Michigan State University and the
University of Surrey.[4] He has served as an editorial board member for
Physical Review C and as an associate editor for
Nuclear Physics A.[5]
He has done research in nuclear astrophysics,[6][7] low-energy experimental physics, reaction physics with stable and radioactive beams, and analysis of cultural heritage artifacts.[4]
Wiescher is the author or co-author of over 350 research publications.[4] He is the author of local historical writings about his birthplace Wuppertal,[8] a biography of
Arthur E. Haas,[9] and the textbook Radioaktivität Ursprung und Auswirkungen eines Naturphänomens. Band I'' (in German),[10][11] as well as the co-author, with Khachatur Manukyan, of the textbook Scientific Analysis of Cultural Heritage Objects.[12]
He has given over 100 presentations at national and international conferences.[2] At the 2021 Fall Meeting of the
APS Division of Nuclear Physics, he presented research, done with Khachatur Manukyan, using X-rays, electron microscopy, and accelerators to investigate coins and paper money from three different historical periods.[13][14]
Thielemann, Friedrich-Karl; Kratz, Karl-Ludwig; Pfeiffer, Bernd; Rauscher, Thomas; Van Wormer, Laura; Wiescher, Michael C. (1994). "Astrophysics and nuclei far from stabilitys". Nuclear Physics A. 570 (1–2): 329–343.
Bibcode:
1994NuPhA.570..329T.
doi:
10.1016/0375-9474(94)90299-2.
Beard, M.; Frauendorf, S.; Kämpfer, B.; Schwengner, R.; Wiescher, M.; Yakovlev, D. G. (2012). "Photonuclear and radiative-capture reaction rates for nuclear astrophysics and transmutation: 92–100Mo,88Sr,90Zr, and139La". Physical Review C. 85 (6): 065808.
arXiv:1002.0741.
Bibcode:
2012PhRvC..85f5808B.
doi:
10.1103/PhysRevC.85.065808.
S2CID125355827.
Kontos, Antonios; Schürmann, Daniel; Akers, Charles; Couder, Manoel; Görres, Joachim; Robertson, Daniel; Stech, Ed; Talwar, Rashi; Wiescher, Michael (2012). "HIPPO: A supersonic helium jet gas target for nuclear astrophysics". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 664 (1): 272–281.
Bibcode:
2012NIMPA.664..272K.
doi:
10.1016/j.nima.2011.10.039.
Bennett, M. E.; Hirschi, R.; Pignatari, M.; Diehl, S.; Fryer, C.; Herwig, F.; Hungerford, A.; Nomoto, K.; Rockefeller, G.; Timmes, F. X.; Wiescher, M. (2012). "The effect of 12C +12C rate uncertainties on the evolution and nucleosynthesis of massive stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 420 (4): 3047–3070.
arXiv:1201.1225.
Bibcode:
2012MNRAS.420.3047B.
doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20193.x.
S2CID119214904.
Best, Andreas; Görres, Joachim; Junker, Matthias; Kratz, Karl-Ludwig; Laubenstein, Matthias; Long, Alexander; Nisi, Stefano; Smith, Karl; Wiescher, Michael (2016). "Low energy neutron background in deep underground laboratories". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 812: 1–6.
arXiv:1509.00770.
Bibcode:
2016NIMPA.812....1B.
doi:
10.1016/j.nima.2015.12.034.
S2CID59386536.
^Bauern, Weber, Arbeiter – Zur Geschichte der Südhöhen in Barmen. Wuppertal: Verlag H.-J. Momberger. 2014.
ISBN978-3-940439-60-4. (English translation of title: "Farmers, weavers, workers - On the history of the southern heights in
Barmen")
^Wiescher, Michael (2021). Radioaktivität Ursprung und Auswirkungen eines Naturphänomens. Band I. wbg Academic.
ISBN978-3-534-40453-7. (English translation of title: "Radioactivity. Origin and effects of a natural phenomenon. Volume 1"