Joachim Sauer

Joachim Sauer
Born (1949-04-19) 19 April 1949
Hosena, East Germany
Fields Quantum chemistry
Institutions Humboldt University, Berlin
Spouse Angela Merkel

Joachim Sauer (born 19 April 1949) is a German quantum chemist and full professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He is the husband of the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.

Scientific career

Sauer studied chemistry from 1967 to 1972 at the Humboldt University of Berlin and was awarded a doctorate in chemistry in 1974. He continued to do research there until 1977 when he joined the Academy of Sciences, Central Institute of Physical Chemistry in Berlin, one of the leading scientific institutes of the former GDR (East Germany).

For a brief time during and after the German reunification (1990–1991) he was the Deputy Technical Director (Catalysis and Sorption) for BIOSYM Technologies, San Diego/USA (now Accelrys). He remained an advisor for BIOSYM until 2002.

In 1992 he joined the Max Planck Society as Head of the Quantum Chemistry Group in Berlin. Since 1993 he has been a full professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He is an active research scientist in quantum chemistry and computational chemistry. His computational studies have allowed for a better understanding of the structures and activities of some catalysts such as zeolites, specifically their acid sites,[1] as well as the interpretation of solid state NMR spectra of nucleus Si-29, and quadrupolar nuclei such as Na-23,[2] Al-27 and O-17.[3][4]

Personal life

From his previous marriage to a fellow chemist, Sauer has two sons, Daniel and Adrian. On 30 December 1998 he married Angela Merkel (herself a doctor of physics who had once worked in quantum chemistry research), who later became chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union and on 22 November 2005, the first female Chancellor of Germany.

Public visibility as husband of Angela Merkel

Sauer (right) with Angela Merkel, George W. Bush and Laura Bush

Owing to the political career of his wife, Sauer has gained far more public visibility than usual for a research scientist. On several occasions he has stated that he is not fond of this publicity.

During the 2005 election campaign Joachim Sauer kept a very low profile, declining to give any interviews not related to his scientific work. He attended the Bayreuth Festival, an opera festival and a highly visible social event in Germany, with his wife.[5] Prof. Sauer is known as a great lover of Wagner's music.

Even during his wife's election in the Bundestag, her inauguration, and later her taking the oath of office, Sauer was not present but reportedly briefly followed the event on TV from his university chemistry lab.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Sauer, J, Haase, F (5 Apr 1995). "Interaction of Methanol With Bronsted Acid Sites Of Zeolite Catalysts - An Ab-Initio Study". Journal of the American Chemical Society 117 (13): 3780–3789. doi:10.1021/Ja00118A014.
  2. ↑ SAUER, J, KOLLER, H; ENGELHARDT, G; KENTGENS, APM (10 Feb 1994). "Na-23 Nmr-Spectroscopy of Solids - Interpretation of Quadrupole Interaction Parameters and Chemical-Shifts". JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY 98 (6): 1544–1551. doi:10.1021/j100057a004.
  3. ↑ Bull Lucy, M., Dupree, R.; Cheetham, AK; Anupold, T; Reinhold, A; Samoson, A; Sauer, J; Bussemer, B; Lee, Y; Gann, S; Shore, J; Pines, A (24 May 1998). "A high-resolution(17)O NMR study of siliceous zeolite faujasite". Journal of the American Chemical Society 120 (14): 3510–3511. doi:10.1021/ja9743001.
  4. ↑ Bull, Lucy M, Dupree, R; Bussemer, B; Anupold, T; Reinhold, A; Samoson, A; Sauer, J; Cheetham, AK (24 May 2000). "A high-resolution O-17 and Si-29 NMR study of zeolite siliceous ferrierite and ab initio calculations of NMR parameters". Journal of the American Chemical Society 122 (20): 4948–4958. doi:10.1021/ja993339y.
  5. ↑ Crossland, David (2005-11-22). "Merkel's Phantom of the Opera". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  6. ↑ Whitlock, Craig (2007-06-08). "The Professor's Quantum Leap". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-04.

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