Herwig Schopper

Professor Herwig Schopper, my director general at CERN from 1981 to 1988, turned 100. So, it was natural that the Organization arranged a seminar on the occasion and in his honor.

One of the speakers called it a Herwigfest.

I was among those who asked to attend the presentations at the main auditorium online, and CERN granted me the privilege.

Herwig Schopper was born on February 28, 1924, in Landskron, formerly Sudetenland, now Czechia.

How did he become 100 years old?

  

Herwig's children and Prof. Albrecht Wagner of DESY started showing many slides shedding light on Prof. Schopper's private and scientific life. Other friends and colleagues followed with their contributions. I present a few of those self-explaining slides, although some have comments. Click the slides to enlarge!

        

Here, Herwig is seen with the still-popular German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt,
who died in 2016 at the age of 97!

Following his deep-digging scientific talk,
American Nobel Prize winner Prof. Samuel Ting handed Herwig a T-shirt.

Another former DG of CERN, Chris Llewellyn Smith, informed
the audience about Prof. Schopper's achievements during his mandate.

During a sabbatical at CERN, American Noble Price winner Burt Richter
worked out a proposal for a high-energy electron-positron collider.

In his talk, Chris Fabjan presented Herwig's most excellent hallmarks.
Superconducting cavities are a must for a Large Electron Positron ring.

Circulating electrons and positrons lose energy in the form of synchrotron radiation. RF cavities must continuously feed them with energy to keep them in orbit. Energy-saving superconducting RF cavities come in handy.

Red Baron was involved in the construction of LEP. In many meetings, the local population and the French and Swiss authorities had to be convinced that no radiation would escape into the environment, as shielding calculations proved. In particular, I enjoyed my frequent trips to Paris and the animated discussions with French colleagues and experts in radiation protection.

A rich harvest: The LEP experiments discovered
both the Z and the W bosons that mediate the weak interaction.

When the construction of a Superconducting Super Collider was discussed in the United States ...

 

... came prompt: A Large Hadron Collider should fit in the existing LEP tunnel.

While Herwig Schopper was CERN's DG, there were more highlights.

When Red Baron, who participated in the initial LHC planning, was forced into retirement (mit 65 ist Schluss!) in July 2000, Prof. Schopper campaigned to establish an International Center for Synchrotron Radiation for Experimental Applications in the Middle East (SESAME).

Take note of the partly enemy countries.

The aim was to promote science in the Middle East and contribute to peacemaking.

     

This was achieved under the umbrella of UNESCO, following the example of CERN. A site for the project was chosen in Jordan.

   

A medal well deserved

Another medal

After chairing the planning committee, Herwig was president of the SESAME Council from 2004 to 2008.

   

For the project, Germany donated the magnets from the dismantled BESSY,
the Berlin Source of Synchrotron radiation, and had them shipped to Jordan.

CERN's present DG, Fabiola Gianotti, congratulated Professor Schopper after the lectures. Both are music lovers, but they differ in their musical tastes.

   

Congratulations came via the Internet... 

... and the jubilarian watched attentively

The Fest seminar ended with the Heisenberg Medal being awarded to Prof. Schopper.

   

Here is the certificate ...

... here is the medal.

I want to join the seminar participants and wish Prof Schopper all the best for the years to come. 

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