Obituary for Prof. Dr. Kurt Binder
We are saddened to say farewell to our former employee Kurt Binder, who passed away on September 27, 2022, at the age of 78. Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. mult. Kurt Binder was one of the most recognized Austrian physicists of his generation and was a staff member of the Forschungszentrum from 1977 to 1983.
During this time, he was director of the Institute Division Theory II (IFF-2), now Theoretical Physics of Living Matter (IBI-5/IAS-2), at the former Institute for Solid State Research (IFF). Following his work at the Research Center, he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz until his retirement. He always remained closely connected to the Forschungszentrum and was active in the chair of the scientific council of the John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC) at Forschungszentrum Jülich since 2011.
His main research interests were in statistical physics, solid-state physics and materials research. His pioneering work on the Monte Carlo method for the simulation of complex systems in statistical physics is particularly outstanding. Fundamental advances have been made in his investigations of a large number of phase transitions and in the field of polymer physics, among others. During his time at Jülich, he made important scientific contributions to the topics of spin glasses, finite-size scaling, polymer adsorption on surfaces, and surface tension in the Ising model.
An important quantity for the characterization of phase transitions is the Binder cumulant named after him. Prof. Dr. Kurt Binder is one of the most cited physicists worldwide. He has been honored with numerous international awards for his outstanding scientific achievements. Among others, he was a member of the German Physical Society, the German Association of Universities, the Institute of Physics (UK) and the American Physical Society.
His scientific work, continues to inspire research at the Peter Grünberg Institute as well as the Institute for Theoretical Physics of Living Matter. We will always honor his memory.
Our sympathy and condolences go to his family.