1967 Graduated (Abitur) from the science-oriented Gymnasium
Leopoldinum II at Detmold (Lippe)
Languages: English, Latin, some French and a little Russian
Participation in a competition for young researchers "Jugend forscht"
1967-69 Military draft service
University studies:
1969 Begin of physics studies at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), also classes on Astronomy / Astrophysics
1970 Vordiplom in Physics (B.Sc. equivalent)
1975 Diploma degree in Physics; Diploma thesis on the Vacuum-uv spectrum and afterglow of
a corona discharge in pure argon (tutor: H. Schmid at the chair of H. v. Buttlar)
1975 Joined P.H. Heckmann for fast-ion beam spectroscopy work
1/1978 Doctoral degree in Physics; Dissertation (PhD thesis) on a study of the
EUV radiation from highly ionized silicon atoms after foil excitation
Postdoctoral career and activities:
1978 Research Assistant (Wiss. Assistent) at RUB
1978-80 Research Associate at the Clarendon Laboratory of the
University of Oxford (England) in the group of J.D. Silver
1979 Elected Junior Research Fellow by Wolfson College, Oxford
1980ff Various positions as a Research Officer at RUB
1986 Habilitation thesis on Lifetime measurements on long-lived levels of highly ionized atoms
First successful measurements of an atomic lifetime using recoil ions
12/1986 Habilitation,
venia legendi (professorial teaching license) for Experimental Physics
1988 Oberassistent (SRO)
1988-90 Visiting Scholar at Harvard College Observatory (USA) (laboratory astrophysics
work, with H.E. Radford and W.H. Parkinson) supported by Max Kade
(DFG) and Feodor Lynen (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) scholarships
10/1990-1/96 Return to Bochum, Hochschuldozent(senior lecturer/reader)
1992 Professorial title
1995-97 Lifetime measurements at the NIST Gaithersburg electron
beam ion trap (EBIT) (with J.D. Gillaspy)
1994-2011 Precision atomic lifetime measurements (intercombination and
forbidden transitions) at a heavy ion storage ring (TSR Heidelberg) (with A. Wolf)
Fast-ion beam spectroscopic studies at Bochum and GSI Darmstadt,
EUV spectroscopy work with references to solar corona and terrestrial plasma physics
1997-2015 Participating Guest and later Summer Faculty /
Faculty Scholar at the University of California Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory (LLNL);
Wavelength and lifetime studies of forbidden lines in the visible spectrum,
X-ray lifetime measurements, EUV spectroscopy at the electron beam ion traps
SuperEBIT, EBIT I, and EBIT II (with P. Beiersdorfer)
1999-2001 Chercheur (FNRS) at IPNE/IPNAS,
Université de Liège (Belgium) (with H.-P. Garnir and E. Biémont)
2001 Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta, Edmonton(AB, Canada) (with E.H. Pinnington)
2003/2005 First time-resolved soft-x-ray spectra from a microcalorimeter at the LLNL EBIT
2005 Counselor for EUV spectroscopy at the Shanghai
EBIT (Fudan University, Shanghai, China) (with Y.M. Zou)
2006-7 Hyperfine interaction measurements at TSR and at the LLNL
EBIT; E2/M3 hyperfine mixing demonstrated by a lifetime measurement;
HFS splitting of 2s and 2p level measured in Li- and Bi-like Bi and Pr ions
2007ff Guest at the astronomy institute of RUB (AIRUB) (R.-J. Dettmar)
2008-09 DFG grants a temporary university position and support for RUB local work
2009-11 Rebuilding a beam-foil experiment at Bochum; measurements at Liège, Livermore,
and TSR Heidelberg; first experiment combining an ECR ion source and a high-current injector with TSR;
2011 The HI-LIGHT collaboration runs an EBIT at the LCLS Stanford x-ray laser
2012 LCLS run aiming for femtosecond atomic lifetime measurements, using femtosecond-split
pulse pairs provided by the slotted-spoiler technique
2012-13 DFG grants a temporary university position
2014 Social security retirement age reached, teaching continues, DTL experiment discarded
Member of the editorial board at the online journal "Atoms"
2015 44th research visit to the EBIT group at Livermore (about 222 weeks in total)
Last regular spectroscopy lectures
Private address
Sauerbruchstr. 23Tel.: +49 - (0)234 - 978 9070
University postal address
Astronomisches Institut der RUB (AIRUB) / GAFO 03/969Tel.: +49 - (0)234 - 32 - 23451 (office)
Fax: +49 -(0)234 - 32 - 14169 (AIRUB)
E-Mail: traebert@astro.rub.de
WWW: http://people.astro.rub.de/traebert/
Updated: 21 Feb 2022