Tor Hagfors: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
Units/dates/other |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
__NOTOC__ |
__NOTOC__ |
||
[[Image:Tor Hagfors.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Tor Hagfors<br />photo by Andreas Blome]] |
[[Image:Tor Hagfors.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Tor Hagfors<br />photo by Andreas Blome]] |
||
'''Tor Hagfors''' ( |
'''Tor Hagfors''' (1930 – [[17 January]] [[2007]]) was a |
||
Norwegian scientist, radio astronomer, radar expert and a pioneer in the |
Norwegian scientist, radio astronomer, radar expert and a pioneer in the |
||
studies of the interactions between [[electromagnetic waves]] (radio |
studies of the interactions between [[electromagnetic waves]] (radio |
||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
Tor Hagfors was born in [[Oslo]] in 1930. |
Tor Hagfors was born in [[Oslo]] in 1930. |
||
He studied at the [[Norwegian Institute of Technology]] (NTH), and he |
He studied at the [[Norwegian Institute of Technology]] (NTH), and he |
||
received his doctorate degree in |
received his doctorate degree in 1959 from the [[University of Oslo]]. |
||
He worked at the [[Norwegian Defence Research Establishment]] from |
He worked at the [[Norwegian Defence Research Establishment]] from |
||
1955 to 1963, interrupted by a [[sabbatical]] at |
|||
[[Stanford University]] from |
[[Stanford University]] from 1959 to 1960. |
||
He was employed at the [[Lincoln Laboratory]] in |
He was employed at the [[Lincoln Laboratory]] in |
||
[[Lexington, Massachusetts]] in two periods, from |
[[Lexington, Massachusetts]] in two periods, from 1963 to 1967 and |
||
from |
from 1969 to 1971. |
||
From |
From 1967 to 1969 he was director of the [[Jicamarca Radio Observatory]] in |
||
[[Lurigancho]], outside [[Lima]], [[Peru]]. |
[[Lurigancho]], outside [[Lima]], [[Peru]]. |
||
He was lecturing electrical engineering at NTH from |
He was lecturing electrical engineering at NTH from 1973 to 1982, |
||
and in the period from |
and in the period from 1975 to 1982 he also served as director of |
||
[[EISCAT]], when the organization's facilities in northern [[Scandinavia]] were |
[[EISCAT]], when the organization's facilities in northern [[Scandinavia]] were |
||
constructed. |
constructed. |
||
From |
From 1982 to 1991 Hagfors was director of |
||
[[National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center]] |
[[National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center]] |
||
which operates the [[Arecibo Observatory]] in [[Puerto Rico]], and |
which operates the [[Arecibo Observatory]] in [[Puerto Rico]], and |
||
Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
[[Cornell University]]. |
[[Cornell University]]. |
||
In |
In 1992 he was appointed director of the |
||
[[Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy]] in |
[[Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy]] in |
||
[[Lindau (Katlenburg-Lindau)]] in [[Germany]], a position he held until |
[[Lindau (Katlenburg-Lindau)]] in [[Germany]], a position he held until |
||
his retirement in |
his retirement in 1998. |
||
Hagfors was chairman of EISCAT Council from |
Hagfors was chairman of EISCAT Council from 1995 to 1996, chairman |
||
of the space science committee in the Norwegian Research Council from |
of the space science committee in the Norwegian Research Council from |
||
1992 to 1997, and member of the Norwegian academy of science |
|||
([[:no:Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi|Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi]]) since |
([[:no:Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi|Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi]]) since 1995. He was |
||
guest professor at the [[University of Tromsø]], [[Norway]], |
guest professor at the [[University of Tromsø]], [[Norway]], |
||
[[Nagoya University]] in [[Japan]], and [[Lancaster University]] in |
[[Nagoya University]] in [[Japan]], and [[Lancaster University]] in |
||
Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
Asteroid 1985 VD<sub>1</sub> was named “7279 Hagfors” in the year |
Asteroid 1985 VD<sub>1</sub> was named “7279 Hagfors” in the year |
||
2000<ref>[[List of asteroids named after people#Physicists|List of asteroids named after physicists]].</ref>. |
|||
Tor Hagfors died of a heart attack in [[Puerto Rico]] on [[17 January]] [[2007]]. |
Tor Hagfors died of a heart attack in [[Puerto Rico]] on [[17 January]] [[2007]]. |
||
Line 86: | Line 86: | ||
== Awards == |
== Awards == |
||
* |
* 1987 [[URSI|URSI]] [[Balthasar van der Pol|Van der Pol]] Gold Medal<ref>[http://www.ursi.org/Chicago08/Awards08/List%20laureates.htm Laureates] of the URSI Awards. Downloaded [[16 June]] 2007</ref> |
||
* |
* 1989 Senior Humboldt fellowship |
||
* |
* 1995 Member of [[:no:Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi|Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi]] |
||
* |
* 1998 Associate member, [[Royal Astronomical Society|Royal Astronomical Society]] |
||
* |
* 2002 [[EISCAT]]'s [[Sir Granville Beynon]] medal |
||
* |
* 2002 Doctor honoris causa [[University of Oulu]]<ref>[http://www.oulu.fi/promootio2002/honorary.html List of honorary doctorates] awarded at the Universitetet of Oulu on [[25 May]] 2002. Downloaded [[16 June]] 2007.</ref> |
||
* |
* 2003 Honorary doctor [[University of Tromsø]]<ref>[http://uit.no/nyheter/903/501 Article in [[:no:Tromsøflaket (avis)|Tromsøflaket]], the University's internal newspaper]. Downloaded [[16 June]] 2007.</ref> |
||
* |
* 2003 [[William E. Gordon]] and Elva Gordon distinguished lecture at the [[Arecibo Observatory]] on November 3, 2003. |
||
== References == |
== References == |
Revision as of 12:07, 19 September 2008
Tor Hagfors (1930 – 17 January 2007) was a Norwegian scientist, radio astronomer, radar expert and a pioneer in the studies of the interactions between electromagnetic waves (radio waves) and a plasma. He was one of several theorists who developed the theory underlying incoherent scattering in the early 1960ies.
Tor Hagfors was born in Oslo in 1930. He studied at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH), and he received his doctorate degree in 1959 from the University of Oslo. He worked at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment from 1955 to 1963, interrupted by a sabbatical at Stanford University from 1959 to 1960. He was employed at the Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts in two periods, from 1963 to 1967 and from 1969 to 1971. From 1967 to 1969 he was director of the Jicamarca Radio Observatory in Lurigancho, outside Lima, Peru. He was lecturing electrical engineering at NTH from 1973 to 1982, and in the period from 1975 to 1982 he also served as director of EISCAT, when the organization's facilities in northern Scandinavia were constructed.
From 1982 to 1991 Hagfors was director of National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center which operates the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and professor of astronomy and electrical engineering at Cornell University.
In 1992 he was appointed director of the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy in Lindau (Katlenburg-Lindau) in Germany, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. Hagfors was chairman of EISCAT Council from 1995 to 1996, chairman of the space science committee in the Norwegian Research Council from 1992 to 1997, and member of the Norwegian academy of science (Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi) since 1995. He was guest professor at the University of Tromsø, Norway, Nagoya University in Japan, and Lancaster University in Great Britain.
Hagfors's research was very broad, comprising amongst other things ionospheric modification (heating), radar astronomy within our solar system, observations of planetary surfaces from space, techniques in radio remote sensing, scattering from rough surfaces, thermal fluctuations in complex plasmas, antennas and radio wave propagation. He published around 170 scientific papers.
Asteroid 1985 VD1 was named “7279 Hagfors” in the year 2000[1].
Tor Hagfors died of a heart attack in Puerto Rico on 17 January 2007.
Career
Awards
- 1987 URSI Van der Pol Gold Medal[2]
- 1989 Senior Humboldt fellowship
- 1995 Member of Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi
- 1998 Associate member, Royal Astronomical Society
- 2002 EISCAT's Sir Granville Beynon medal
- 2002 Doctor honoris causa University of Oulu[3]
- 2003 Honorary doctor University of Tromsø[4]
- 2003 William E. Gordon and Elva Gordon distinguished lecture at the Arecibo Observatory on November 3, 2003.
References
- Obituary, Astronomy and Geophysics, June 2007, 48(3) p.3.37
- ^ List of asteroids named after physicists.
- ^ Laureates of the URSI Awards. Downloaded 16 June 2007
- ^ List of honorary doctorates awarded at the Universitetet of Oulu on 25 May 2002. Downloaded 16 June 2007.
- ^ Article in Tromsøflaket, the University's internal newspaper. Downloaded 16 June 2007.
External links
- Short biography
- Obituary (p.65-66) in Radio Science Bulletin, March 2007