Mourning the loss of Professor Hans-Ulrich Schmincke

It is with great sadness that GEOMAR announces the death of Prof. Dr Hans-Ulrich Schmincke, former Head of the Department of Volcanology and Petrology, on 24 August 2024 at the age of 86.

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke joined GEOMAR in 1990 as Professor of Volcanology after spending 20 years of research and teaching at the Ruhr-University in Bochum. He built up a strong group studying physical volcanology at GEOMAR, concentrating on both the Eifel and the Canary Islands. His teaching and mentoring, especially in the field, drew cohorts of excellent students to Kiel, many of whom are themselves now renowned scientists of volcanology and petrology in Germany and beyond.

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 1991. He established a German Research Foundation funded graduate school on the “Dynamics of global cycles within the system Earth”, and co-initiated the special research program SFB 574 on “Volatiles and fluids in subduction zones”. He was involved in the international science drilling projects IODP and ICDP and their drilling into both the Troodos ophiolite on Cyprus and the volcaniclastic apron around Gran Canaria.

In the course of a long and active scientific career, which extended well beyond his retirement, he published more than 300 scientific papers and several books. His book “Volcanism”, originally published in German but translated into both English and Japanese, has become a standard text in the field.

Last year, Hans-Ulrich Schmincke was awarded the Rhineland-Palatinate Medal of Merit for his services to volcanology in the Eifel region. This was in recognition of his many years of voluntary work in volcanology in the Eifel and the establishment of the two Eifel volcano parks, the 'Natur- und Geopark Vulkaneifel' in Daun and Plaidt.

After his retirement Hans-Ulrich maintained strong ties with GEOMAR and was, until very recently, a regular attendee at public events at GEOMAR. He will be greatly missed by colleagues at GEOMAR and throughout the world.