Tribute

for the attribution of the GEFTA Science Award 2014

to Christoph Schick

The GEFTA Science Award 2014 is assigned to Christoph Schick, Professor of Physics at the University of Rostock. The prize acknowledges extraordinary scientific and theoretical achievements in the fields of thermal analysis and calorimetry and is awarded in an irregular way by the German Association for Thermal Analysis (GEFTA). In 2014, the year of GEFTA's 40th anniversary, the GEFTA Science Award is attributed for the fourth time since 1997.

By attributing this scientific award to Christoph Schick, we value a long-lasting scientific carreer of an university teacher and of a very active researcher. He is well-known to the scientific community by his work on fast and ultra-fast calorimetry, especially for his contribution to the understanding of frequency-dependent measurements of complex heat capacities whereby the frequency range covers several orders of magnitude. Applying and developing these techniques, he devoted his main interests during more than 30 years to the study of the glass transition and crystallization phenomena of confined systems. In the last time, a special regard to the particularities of micro and nanometer thin films became a part of his activities. A physically based understanding of phase transitions, melting, crystallization of thin-layered systems together with the related enthalpy and entropy changes is an especially challenging problem. The work of Christoph Schick considerably contributed to this field of physical chemistry. More than 300 original papers represent the sum of his scientific life and fully justify this scientific award.

Christoph Schick, born in 1953, obtained his academic formation from the Technical University Leuna-Merseburg that he finished as a physicist in 1976. Four years later, 1980, he got his Ph. D. in experimental physics from the same university. He moved then to the University of Güstrow where he obtained his habilitation with a study on the molecular mobility of amorphous domains in partly crystalline polymers. Since 1992 he is full professor at the Institute of Physics of the University of Rostock.

His scientific work was honored by several academic decorations, among them the Mettler-NATAS Award 2006, the AICAT-Setaram Award 2010, and the AFCAT Calvet Price 2011. For several years already he is one of the Editors of Thermochimica Acta.

The Board of the German Association for Thermal Analysis warmly congratulates Christoph Schick on this honour and wishes him and his family health and happiness as well as much success for all his personal and scientific activities.


On behalf of the GEFTA Board
Michael Feist
Chairman






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