Werner Eissner (1930–2022): a pioneer in computational atomic physics

Abstract

Werner Eissner (Figure 1), a pioneer in computational atomic physics, was born on 16 October 1930 in the city of Görlitz, Germany, to Bernhard and Frieda (née Eckert) Eissner. He lost both parents early in life, his father in the War and later his mother at the age of 15. He attended elementary school in his hometown (1937–1941) and high school in both Görlitz (1941–1945) and Lüdenscheid (1946–1951). His higher education was at Göttingen University (Preliminary Diploma in physics, 1954) and Tübingen University (Diploma under Professor Dr. Hubert Krüger, 1959, and doctorate degree under Professor Dr. Gerhard Elwert, 1967). His doctoral thesis dissertation was entitled “Rechnungen zur Elektronenstoßanregung der M-Schale von Wasserstoff und zur Polarisation des Stoßleuchtens der H𝛼 -Linie” (Calculations for the electron collision excitation of the M-shell of hydrogen and for the polarization of the collisionally excited H𝛼 line), which he presented in preliminary form at the Third International Conference on the Physics of Electronic and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC, 22–26 July 1963) held at University College London (UCL) [1]. For most of Werner’s career, he was a member of two major research groups in atomic physics led by Professor Michael J. Seaton FRS at UCL and by Professor Philip G. Burke FRS at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and Daresbury Laboratory (DL).