Ekhard Salje facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Professor Ekhard K. H. Salje
FRS
|
|
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hanover |
| Nationality | German and British |
| 6th President of Clare Hall, Cambridge | |
| In office 2001–2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Dame Gillian Beer |
| Succeeded by | Sir Martin Harris |
Ekhard Karl Hermann Salje (1946-2025) was a very important scientist. He was a professor at Cambridge University in England. He studied rocks and minerals, especially how they change under different conditions. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a big honor for scientists.
Contents
A Scientist's Journey
Ekhard Salje started his university teaching career in 1972. By 1983, he was leading a department at Leibniz University Hannover in Germany. In 1985, he moved to Cambridge, England. There, he became a Professor of Mineral Physics in 1992. This means he studied the physical properties of minerals. He also worked with the physics department at the Cavendish Laboratory.
Leading Departments
In 1998, Professor Salje became the Head of the University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences. He led this department until October 2008. He also became the President of Clare Hall, Cambridge in 2001. Clare Hall is one of the colleges at Cambridge University. He held this important role until 2008.
Amazing Discoveries in Minerals
Professor Salje's main work was in mineral physics. He combined experiments and computer models to understand minerals. He wanted to know how stable minerals are. He also studied how they change when temperature or pressure changes.
How Minerals Change
His research looked at how minerals change their structure. He studied special properties like "ferroelasticity." He also found out that changes inside minerals can happen like "avalanches." This means tiny parts of the mineral move suddenly and quickly. He showed this "avalanche" behavior in different materials.
Important Contributions
Because of his important work, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1996. This is one of the highest honors for a scientist in the UK. He also received awards from other countries. These included the "Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes Academiques" from France in 2004. He also received the "Cross of the Order of Merit" from Germany in 2007. He was a member of several other important science groups.
Professor Salje also helped with big projects. He worked on a report about nuclear waste for the Royal Society. He was involved in research about future technologies. He also advised on environmental research at Cambridge. He was a visiting professor in many countries, including Japan and France.
Awards and Honors
Professor Salje received many awards for his scientific work. Here are some of them:
- Fellow of Leopoldina (German Academy of Natural Sciences), 1994
- Abraham-Gottlob-Werner medal in mineralogy, 1994
- Fellow of the Royal Society, 1996
- Mombusho Professor, Japan, 1996
- Schlumberger medal of the Mineralogical Society, 1998
- Humboldt Research Prize, 2000
- Honorary Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge, 2001
- Ernst Ising prize for Physics, 2002
- Gold medal of the University of Hamburg, 2002
- Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes Academiques, 2004
- Agricola medal for Applied Mineralogy, 2006
- Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, first class (Germany), 2006
- Foreign member of the Royal Society of Barcelona for Arts and Sciences, 2010
- Honorary Professor, Jiao-Tong University, China, 2012
- Werner Heisenberg medal, 2017
- Honorary PhD (Dr. h.c.) University of Wuerzburg, 2019
- Hon. Senator (Ehrensenator) University of Wuerzburg, 2020
- Member Academia Europaea, 2021
- Friendship award and medal, China, 2024
- Honorary PhD (Dr. h.c.) Leibniz University Hanover, 2024
