Book of condolence / Kondolenzbuch
September 28, 2014
We are all saddened by the passing of "our" Manuel Cardona. His Abteilung was a big family. Twenty years ago, I was a small piece in his lifetime of semiconductor physics. Yet, a few years ago, when I had to make a difficult decision between two job opportunities and stumbled into him at a March meeting, I asked for his advice. And none of us should be surprised that he had a story about both places, including one place he had never visited. Going to the APS March meeting will never be the same again.
Lok C. Lew Yan Voon
(Dean, School of Science and Mathematics, The Citadel, Charleston, SC)
September 8, 2014
It is a sad to know that Professor Manuel Cardona passed away. He was a wonderful human being and college who will be deeply missed by us all. His contribution to the condensed matter physic is extremely fruitful. He will be long fresh in our memory.
Prof. Bakhysh Bairamov
(Ioffe Physical-Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia)
August 14, 2014
It was really sad to hear about the demise of Manuel Cardona. I had the opportunity to work in his group as a Postdoc. I remember him as an excellent Scientist, Teacher and Friend. He had a special ability to find important information in experimental data. It was a pleasure to listen his discussions about new data and new ways to interpret them. I remember him working in his office with a variable scale ruler, that he used in a impressive way to measure scales and energies positions of spectral features. Manuel's knowledge about Mexican history and culture was impressive. I really enjoyed his talks about Mexican culture and about the etymological origin of words used in Mexico that have Nahuatl origin. We will miss him. My wife and I want to give our condolences to Inge and her Family.
Luis Felipe Lastras-Martinez & Gabriela Darbel
(IICO, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí, México)
August 13, 2014
It has come as a great shock to learn of Manuel’s passing last month. He has been a cherished mentor and friend for 50 years. Manuel and I both arrived at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, in September, 1964, he as a new faculty member and I as a new doctoral student. It was my great fortune to join his research group during my second year and then to become one of his first PhD graduates. Manuel gave me my own research project right away and, as was typical of him, wanted to see progress sooner rather than later. This, of course, was to my advantage since I knew he would be checking in daily, if not more frequently. His boundless energy has been a source of inspiration to me ever since.
I still remember my sabbatical year at MPI-FKF in 1977-78 with Manuel and Inge as kind and generous hosts. It was a unique opportunity for me to explore new areas of research and also to make life-long friends. I was able to visit with Manuel and Inge most recently in Querétaro, Mexico where his 75th birthday was celebrated. He was still the "life of the party", stimulating all present with his insights and knowledge.
My sincere condolences go out to Inge and his children and grandchildren for their great loss.
Fred Smith
(Professor Emeritus, The City College of New York)
August 8, 2014
I was very sorry to hear about the demise of Manuel Cardona and wish to express my deepest sympathies to Inge and his family. I knew him since I joined the MPI as a PhD student after my stay in Toulouse. I will never forget our conversations and amazing stories beyond science. Manuel Cardona was a great physicist and exceptional teacher who took care of his collaborators and students with great humanity. Many people will miss him.
Wolfgang Kauschke
(Alcatel-Lucent, Paris, France)
August 1, 2014
We started in 1970 our PhD theses at Brown University under the leadership of Manuel, and followed him in Stuttgart for a few time when he was appointed as one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute. We enjoyed very much carrying our PhD works in Providence, mainly dedicated to resonant Raman scattering studies in semiconductors. We remember the time when we were working at Brown in the basement of the Physics Department with Peter Yu, Fernando Cerdeira, Bernie Weinstein, and others. Manuel was always waiting for new data and very excited when discussing our results. Back to Toulouse, we have created a Raman group, the development of which was closely followed by Manuel. For sure, we owe our professional lives to him, and we shall keep Manuel's memory active for a long time. All our thoughts are with Inge, who played an essential role at his side, and with his family.
Jeanet Marion Renucci
(Emeriti Professors, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France)
July 18, 2014
It is difficult for me to adjust to the fact that Manuel has passed away. He was one of the most "alive and curious" men I've ever met. I've known him my entire professional career. My wife Suzy and I have had a close friendship with Inge and Manuel for many years, and we have valued and enjoyed their friendship tremendously. We extend our condolences and support to Inge and the Cardona family.
In my opinion Manuel knew more about the basic nature of semiconductors than anyone in the world. His pathbreaking work in this field spilled over into other areas of condensed matter physics and into other fields of science. He was extremely productive, creative, and influential. His research had a profound effect on the development of condensed matter physics for the past half century.
Manuel also had a broad and profound knowledge of history, many different cultures, and politics. And he was a truly international man who thought deeply about world events. He would send me books, and we had long discussions about many non-technical subjects. I hasten to add that we had even longer discussions on technical subjects.
I will miss Manuel as a colleague and as an intellectual companion, and mostly I will miss his verve, his warmth, and his friendship.
Marvin L. Cohen
(University Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA)
July 18, 2014
I had the great fortune and opportunity to write my Ph.D. thesis with Manuel Cardona from 1987-1991. Manuel gave me a great problem, to look at the temperature dependence of the dielectric function of semiconductors with spectroscopic ellipsometry. A continuation of this project is still funded today in my lab at NMSU by the US Air Force. At the time, Manuel’s group had about 40 scientists, half of them Ph.D. students and the other half visitors from around the world. When we met, Manuel always asked wonderful questions about my work, the questions that drive you forward to take the next step. It was also amazing to have so many experts in the group, who would cheerfully answer questions about anything relevant to my research.
Manuel’s passing gives me with great sadness, but I trust that he is resting in peace, knowing that all of us are continuing his legacy. We continue our research in directions he suggested. We teach our students using his books and review articles, and we ask our students the same questions that Manuel once asked us. My first Ph.D. student defended her Ph.D. thesis this month. I hope that she and our other students trained in the tradition of Manuel’s thinking about physics will continue to advance our knowledge of solid-state physics and semiconductor technology.
Stefan Zollner
(Physics Department Head, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM)
July 14, 2014
In the early sixties, a young and already well-known physicist born in Barcelona came to Bariloche, Argentina, to visit the Physics Institute (today Instituto Balseiro). While he was expected to come with his wife, when he arrived she was not with him: the flight was full and Inge had remained in Buenos Aires.
Manuel’s first visit was a short one: it lasted less than 48 hours. He came to the Lab and I showed him what I was doing for my PhD thesis. The topic of my work was not in his area of expertise and certainly was not in the front line of physics. However, Manolo listened and discussed with me as if a new field was to be discovered…. And then we both noticed that it had gotten late in the evening!!!
Maria Elena, who was working at the Lab told us "its time for dinner…" and we all went home. Maria Elena prepared some fried eggs and salad and the three of us continued talking until quite late: we became good friends. It was only a few years later that we met Inge and immediately understood how important a role she played in Manolo´s life.
In 1968, I became Cardona’s first PostDoc at Brown University. Since our families became and remained friends, in spite of time and distance. I was few years younger than Manuel but many years behind in knowledge and experience. I learned from Manuel scientific integrity and commitment to students with diligence and concern.
The de la Cruz family has enjoyed and been privileged by the Cardona´s family friendship and affection over time, in spite of a distance that only is measured in Km.
We miss you, Manuel.
Paco and María Elena de la Cruz
July 14, 2014
It is with profound sadness that we learn about Manuel Cardona`s passing away. Manuel Cardona has been an outstanding personality and a pioneer of synchrotron radiations usage. From the beginning on he pushed development of Synchrotron radiation labs not only as a successful scientific pioneer but as well with his engagement in political discussions. His spirit and effort forced organization and set up of the Synchrotron Radiation Lab HASYLAB at DESY and BESSY in Berlin. Thanks to his early commitment for synchrotron radiation usage, for example in the "Cardona Commission", today`s conditions and success of research facilities like DESY in Germany and other labs in Europe were made possible. We will always be grateful for the visions and skillful touch of Manuel Cardona. We offer the Cardona family our heartfelt condolences. DESY will keep a fond memory of him.
Helmut Dosch
(Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors)
July 12, 2014
My first meeting with Manuel was in 1959, my last in 2012. Both, as it happens, occurred in Boston. In 1959 I had just joined Bill Paul's semiconductor group at Harvard. Manuel had just finished his degree with Bill, and was soon to leave for RCA Zurich. He was already earning a reputation as a terrifically effective experimentalist. On one occasion soon after he left, when Bill was prodding his new students (e.g., me) to improve their productivity, he pointed out that Manuel − on the trail of a key experiment in the morning − would manage to overcome by midnight every obstacle standing in the way of carrying out the experiment. It's true that hindsight is easy after witnessing 55 years of extraordinary work, but it is also fair to say that in 1959 there was already more than an inkling of the legend-to-be. Our last meeting was during the 2012 March Meeting of the Americal Physical Society. At a fine Boston restaurant, we shared a happy dinner with a group of good friends, including Bill Paul and Bernie and Helen Weinstein. A year earlier, Manuel and I, along with Sid Nagel and Karel Zaveta, worked together on a memoir about Jan Tauc for the US National Academy of Sciences. Manuel and Inge were close and very important friends for Jan and Vera. Many people are very grateful to have known Manuel. All of us will miss him.
Richard Zallen
(Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Physics, Virginia Tech, USA)
July 11, 2014
When I learned that Manuel Cardona had passed away, I wrote to his wife Inge how strong an influence he had on my work and how much enrichment he had brought to my intellectual life. A great man and a great friend – I told her from the deep of my heart – a very special and unforgettable person, one of those who are rarely encountered in the course of life.
I first met Manuel half a century ago, precisely during the 1964 Philadelphia March Meeting of the American Physical Society: he was a professor at Brown University, I was a research associate in Urbana, Illinois. It turned out that our messages to the audience were strictly complementary: he introduced the new technique of electrolite-electroreflectance in semiconductors, I presented electroabsorption in p-n junctions, a method developed together with Paul Handler. Manuel’s enthusiastic approach to the matter boosted my interest in modulation spectroscopy, a discipline that in the following years grew into a major worldwide activity, providing lots of information about solids.
Since then, our interaction became stronger and stronger, resulting in a very special friendship. We both served in IUPAP Commissions, cooperated in ICPS Conferences and other international events, came in close contacts when I was (more than once) a host at the Physics Department of Stuttgart University. Until, in 1994, I was proud to illustrate his figure and merits on occasion of his honoris causa doctoral degree from the University of Rome. I recall with particular commotion his acceptance speech, when he went through his ties with Italy and he stressed his desire for justice and equal rights throughout the world.
Manuel was connected with many Italian institutions and many of us thought of him as a close friend and precious interlocutor. The late Franco Bassani used to say that Manuel was one of the inventors of modern solid state physics.
Addio, Manuel, citizen of the world, Renaissance man, e grazie di tutto, Andrea
(Andrea Frova, retired Professor of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome)
July 11, 2014
It is not very often that there appears in our midst a person who is not only a towering intellectual but is also a deeply caring and compassionate human being. Manuel was such an individual. My wife Bhanu and I were most fortunate to have first come to know the Cardonas when I spent three years at the MPI in the early 1980s. I have been inspired by his mentorship and his deep knowledge of the field which he most willingly shared with other researchers. Manuel and Inge were a delightful couple who made everyone feel welcomed and helped so many (including us) in countless different ways. I have, to this day, not come across anyone who does not agree with these sentiments about the Cardonas – it is universal! May his soul rest in peace and Inge and the children take comfort in knowing that Manuel has deeply touched the lives of so many across the world.
Sooryakumar
(Department of Physics, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, USA)
July 11, 2014
On behalf of the Catalan Physical Society as well as on my own, I want to express our deepest condolence, for the loss of a big, remarkable personality as a Physicist, Manuel Cardona. A great, impacting physicist as well as an impacting person: excellent colleague, researcher or director, of many research projects and PhD, always ready to communicate his enthusiasm and scientific curiosity to others. As a Catalan Physical Society we are very gratefully to him for his talks and Conferences given to as, at the Catalan Studies building in Barcelona.
He was one of the directors at Max-Planck-Institute fkf in Stuttgart. As a research visitor at this Institute in Stuttgart, I could discover the nice feeling they created there, very intense and relaxed at the same time, favouring exchanges and discussions between scientists from different groups, working on different subjects. His passion for Physics and his way to communicate it to his colleagues and students, made the institute MPI fkf and in particular his group, a wonderful research laboratory for many Material Physicist during the last decades.
Núria Ferrer Anglada
(Societat Catalana de Física, filial de l’Institut d’Estudis Catalans)
En nom de la Societat Catalana de Física i també en el meu propi, vull expressar ací les nostres condolences, per la pèrdua d’una personalitat remarcable en el món de la Física. Manuel Cardona. Físic notable, que deixa petjada com a físic, i també com a home: company, col·lega, director de molts treballs i de moltes Tesi sempre disposat a animar i entusiasmar els altres. Com a SCF li hem d’agrair una vegada més les Conferències que ens va fer a La Seu de l’ Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Com a visitant en diferents ocasions de l’ Institut MPI-fkf de Stuttgart, vaig poder descobrir com ell, juntament amb els altres cofundadors de l’ Institut Max-Planck de Física dels Sòlids, van saber crear un ambient de treball relaxat i intens alhora, afavorint els espais d’intercanvi i discussió entre grups i disciplines. La seva passió per la física i la manera de comunicar-ho al seus col·legues i deixebles va fer del MPI-fkf de Stuttgart, i en particular del seu grup, un lloc ideal per a una gran part dels investigadors en Física dels Sòlids dels últims anys del segle xx.
Núria Ferrer Anglada
(Societat Catalana de Física, filial de l’Institut d’Estudis Catalans)
July 10, 2014
My first meeting of Manuel came in the fall of 1965 at Brown in Providence, Rhode Island where I began graduate school. As usual in the group of Brown faculty Manuel stood out as someone outstanding. A few months before I met someone at Oak Ridge national Labs who told me that Manuel was a new faculty member in Physics who had only been there one year; however, he was outstanding and I should consider joining his group. Later as a member of the Cardona-Pollak group, I worked on a project to study excitons on CdS under uniaxial stress to collars the spin-orbit splitting pif the valence band. This led to my thesis on excitons under stress where I ultimately established the first "proof" of excitons at the E1 critical point above the band gap. Later in 1968 at Manuel's home I was to meet Inge Cardona whose voice was so distinctive that I always thought of her as an opera singer because of the musical quality of her speech. Even later, in my last trip to Stuttgart around 2003, I was treated to dinner by Manual and Inge, which was a great experience. Due to physical limitations I have not gone to Europe in the last 10 years, but I have wonderful memories of Manuel and Inge that I will always treasure. Jack
Prof. J. E. (Jack) Rowe (Physics Department, NC State University, Raleigh)
July 10, 2014
Dear Manuel,
the following few lines are ment for you and for Inge, so I will write them in the language they came to my mind from the heart.
Adiós Manuel ¡Te nos fuiste tan de repente! Después de disipada la desolación inicial, lentamente se va asimilando el golpe. Y uno empieza a querer haberse podido despedir. Pero, pensándolo bien, ¿quién se quiere despedir de nadie por adelantado? Creo que lo que en realidad pasa es que tu ida nos dejó huérfanos, malhumorados con la vida (aunque tendría que ser con la muerte) e interminablemente tristes y confusos. El consuelo, magro como pan de pobre, es saber que tú sabías cuánto te apreciaba y, sobre todo, cuánto te admiraba. Creo que soy un tipo con suerte. Por muchas cosas, como por haber tenido las 2 hijas que tengo, por ejemplo. Pero podés estar seguro que considero una inmensa suerte ser uno de tus numerosos “pupilos” (o pichones, como decimos en Argentina). A tu vera no sólo me formé como físico, en particular, y científico, en general, sino que también aprendí a ser mejor persona, ser generoso con colegas y alumnos, mentor de nuevas generaciones. Tu figura y tarea son inigualables pero nuestro mejor homenaje es tratar de imitarte en cuanto esté a nuestro alcance, dentro de nuestras insoslayables limitaciones. Te debo un abrazo, Alejandro
Alejandro R. Goñi
(ICREA & Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain)
July 10, 2014
Dear Inge and family,
It was with great sadness that we heard that Manuel has passed away. We express our deep feelings, and wish you the strength needed to process this loss. Yet, also many sweet memories came up during the past days, back to the time Martha, me and kids spent three years in Stuttgart, and met so many new friends. I will certainly remember Manual as a real scientist, a teacher rather than a director. Already in my first weeks at the institute he invited me to his office frequently. Then we spent hours on a row in sessions where he took a pencil and a pile of paper, teaching me all ins and outs about semiconductors bandstructures, optics and group theory. Not seldom, we completely lost track of the time. It was a special moment when a couple of years ago I came for a day to the MPI and I had the occasion visiting Manuel once more in the same office, and all memories came alive again. I will also memorize Manuel as an advisor. Of course my scientific supervisor from whom I learned a lot, but also about daily business. Starting already before we came to Stuttgart. I remember Martha was in hospital just prior to giving birth to our Helma, and we just decided about an apartment in Fellbach. Telling Manuel by phone, he immediately told me we shouldn't go that far. Based on his advice we ended up in Botnang, where we spent three great years. Our Helma and Marten, the small they were (now 19 and 21 and studying artificial intelligence and applied physics), still share many memories about that time. Including Sekt und Bretzel at the MPI seventh floor, when children from all nationalities ran around the labyrinth of corridors. Most of all I will remember Manuel the story teller. About politics, art, whatever topic. He knew much more about Dutch history (and art) than I did (and still do). But also "story stories". A favourite one that I remember was telling that once he got lost in a dark evening on his way to Schloss Ringberg, for one of the famous, annual brainstorm sessions with the group. He saw a women in the dark along the road and asked for the way. Yes. She knew the castle. It was up in the mountains. A few kilometres back you should turn left and then all the way up the winding road. There you would find the castle. "But", she said with some concern in her voice, "you are not supposed to go there. It is a place where physicists meet ...".
Inge, many more stories come up, and I hope some time we can share more of them. Again we wish you and family all strength needed.
Best regards, Bert Koopmans & Martha de Boer
July 9, 2014
I am not recovered from these news. Manuel meant a lot to me as well as to many other Latin American scientists. His contributions will not be forgotten but most importantly he will be remembered by his friends, where he leaves a whole book of memories and experiences. I did enjoy doing science with him for the last 10 years and thanks to him I did learn a lot on thermal properties and how to interpretate theoretical data from the experiment point of view. When we gathered in Queretaro to celebrate his 75th birthday, I did have the change to meet so many of his friends that travel from all over the world just to be with him. These actions and many others just confirmed his character as a human being. My deepest condolences to his family but mostly to Inge, that I am sure he did love with all his hearth!.
Prof. Aldo Romero
(Physics Department West Virginia University)
July 9, 2014
Memories of Manuel flood my mind. Manuel was my teacher at Brown and my PhD mentor at the first MPI-FKF on Heilbronnerstrasse. A warm relationship with him and with Inge took shape, and grew closer, in physics and in friendship, from the time they welcomed a young student and his wife to Stuttgart until now. Inge’s graciousness and hospitality has played a special role in this. Ever present in these memories are Manuel’s energy, enthusiasm, and humanity – his joy for scientific discovery and for learning in general, his true regard for the people around him, and his concern for issues that affect all of our lives. I feel very fortunate to be one of Manuel’s many students. Forty years later, the experience (seemingly "mystical" at times) of watching Manuel apply his "spectroscopist’s eye" and keen physical intuition to extract a key result from puzzling data remains fresh in my mind. Manuel has left us a legacy of excellence and integrity, and his guidance, as much by example as by instruction, is something I try to emulate with my own students. May Inge and his whole family find healing and comfort as these sad days pass. Manuel’s memory will always be cherished.
Bernard Weinstein
(Professor, Department of Physics, SUNY at Buffalo, USA)
July 9, 2014
We want to express our deepest condolence by the loss of Professor Manuel Cardona to his Wife, Family and co-workers from MPI-Stuttgart. Professor Manuel Cardona played an extremely important role in the development of semiconductors physics. His research was really stimulating for us. We lose important person in solid state physics, friend and teacher. On behalf of Prof. Marian Grynberg, Prof. Andrzej Wysmolek, staff members and alumni of our Department.
Prof. Andrzej Golnik
(Chairman of Solid State Physics Department, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw)
July 9, 2014
I knew Manuel first as a friend of Gunther Harbeke, my bigger and long lost brother. When in 1974 I spent a year at the University of Stuttgart, it was good to be able to escape from time to time from Physics in the Azenbergstrasse to the the international atmosphere of the then infant Max-Planck in the Heilbronnerstrasse. Along with Bilz, Fulde, all the others, Manuel was there, shining, bubbling, impossible to miss, and impossible to escape his charms, then and from then on. Manuel helped me personally, generously, in many many ways. He tirelessly helped the international community, including many in developing countries. He helped us in Italy, especially in the Rome semiconductor group. He helped us in Trieste, at the ICTP and at SISSA, a lot. He spoke Italian as if it was his mother tongue, so much that every time we would meet he would need first thing to download on me the freshest Italian jokes. The Italian community respected enormously his science and made him a foreign member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei; but also loved him way beyond that. I wish to record here that love in addition to my own for Manuel Cardona.
Addio, Manolo!
Erio Tosatti
(Prof. Erio Tosatti, SISSA, Trieste, Italy)
July 9, 2014
I knew Manuel Cardona since I joined the Abteilung Cardona at MPI-FKF in Stuttgart as a PhD student. Besides the tremendous relevance of the work of Manuel Cardona in solid state physics worldwide, I will remember him as a role model, great teacher and best friend. Not only his door office was always open but also he was tremendously generous with the time he shared with you, it did not matter how insignificant the question was. I deeply admired his great humanity. Both Manuel and Inge always cared for the wellbeing of those who were away from home. They would help you with any matter you had, either professional or personal. We really had a great time with them at their home parties and abteilungsausflüge. It was delighting to hear their amusing stories about many interesting persons and subjects. My deepest condolences to Inge and his family. Thanks Manuel, you will always be with us.
Narcís Mestres
(Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC)
July 9, 2014
Everything has been said, and I will not add one iota to gloss his immense scientific legacy, just a few memories. I was a PhD student, almost 40 years ago, when I met Manuel and this first meeting was engraved in my memory because already at that time Manuel was my reference in semiconductor physics, my own research field. Since then, our relationship has always been excellent. In 1985 I had the honor of glossing his figure in the Dr. Honoris Causa ceremony of UAB (Inge and Prof. Klaus von Klitzing surely remember those days in Barcelona). Later, when I was appointed director of the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN), Manuel was the first name that came to our mind to become a member of the Advisory Scientific Board. In between, along all these years, lots of Catalan students were hosted in the MPI under his umbrella. And also, from the very beginning, he always vowed to help science in our country even being conscious that at that time the research was a vast desert in our country. So thanks Manuel for all you did in science and all you did far beyond science.
I am sure that he would appreciate very much that I close my dedication with a few words in Catalan, his mother tongue:
Gràcies Manuel per la teva generositat i no haver oblidat mai el nostre país, i gràcies també a la Inge, que sempre ha estat al teu costat; des d’aquí, tot el nostre suport.
Ens has deixat, però el teu llegat quedarà per sempre més entre nosaltres.
Prof. Jordi Pascual
(Physics Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Former Director of the Institut Català de Nanotecnologia (ICN))
July 9, 2014
It was a sad and heartbreaking day for me and my family to hear such a shocking news about Manuel.
Manuel was my mentor and best friend. I learned a lot from him during my stay in his MPI-FKF group between 1994-1997. What he did for me has shaped my life and career. We kept frequent contact after I left Stuttgart. Every APS March meeting, gathering with Manuel was on a high priority list in my agenda.
My wife always says, "Manuel and Inge are the nicest persons we have ever met". I agree fully with my wife on this. My family met with Manuel and Inge several times and we had good time. Our last family gathering was in Stuttgart in July 2011. We spent good time in Manuel and Inge's home. We still remember vividly Manuel and Inge's smile when they put on the silk pajamas we brought to them from China because they looked like an emperor and a queen. We took Manuel and Inge to enjoy Chinese food in downtown Stuttgart.
Every time when I and my family think of Manuel and Inge, our hearts are filled with warmth and gratitude. I tried to arrange them to visit China in the last few years but did not make it because of Inge's health and later on Manuel's own health. This has become a life-long pity for me.
It is a deep pain for me and my family for not being able to see Manuel any more. We can feel the pain for Inge and Manuel's family. We will remember Manuel deep in our heart. We wish Inge and Manuel's family well during this hard time.
Wish Manuel live well in heaven. Best Regards, Xingjiang and his Familiy, Dan Li, Kelly and Keven
(Xingjiang Zhou, Director National Lab for Superconductivity, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
July 8, 2014
After I arrived in Stuttgart in 1981 as a graduate student, Manuel suggested that I should work on Raman spectroscopy. But instead of running immediately to the lab, I decided to start ab initio and teach myself group theory. And I did it over the course of a year, writing hundreds of pages of notes, including the difficult proof that the number of irreducible representations is equal to the number of classes. It never crossed my mind that I was wasting Max-Planck resources, and Manuel never brought it up. He somehow trusted that eventually I was going to do something productive. Like a football manager who maintains his faith in a scoreless striker, Manuel continued dropping one-page experiment suggestions in my mailbox. One night in 1983 I finally proved one of his predictions right, and I still remember jumping up and down in the lab with excitement. I thought this was going to be a recurrent experience in my scientific career, but I never had that feeling of elation again, perhaps because few accomplishments can match living up to somebody else’s expectations. Over the years I have heard a few times that I am too lenient on my own graduate students, and that I should make sure that they are productive from day one. My critics don’t know that I acquired a certain moral obligation in the 1980’s, and my students don’t know that they are getting a second, a third, and fourth chance because of Manuel Cardona.
José Menéndez
(Department of Physics, Arizona State University)
July 8, 2014
Manuel Cardona (or simply Manuel, as we the Latin American students called him) exerted a decisive influence in my professional life. He was my thesis supervisor at Brown (from 1967 t0 1971) and my boss at the MPI for the next three years of my post-doctoral work. But our collaboration did not stop there. Between the time I took my job in Campinas (September 1974) and the time he retired in 1999, I was a frequent visitor to the MPI and we worked together in many interesting projects. After that, during a sabbatical year I spent in the Institute for Material Sciences in Barcelona (ending in February 2002), we had an opportunity to renew our long and fruitful collaboration when he aided us (Miquel Garriga, Isabel Alonso and myself) in the interpretation of Raman data from organic crystals. During this very long and rich association I learned a lot, not only about the science involved in our projects but also about a general attitude towards research and its administration. The things I learnt from him were decisive in my work of nearly four decades in Brazil.
He was my teacher, my mentor and my friend. The feelings of friendship are not only due to Manuel himself, but also, and very importantly, to his wife Inge. She was the part of the equation that lent warmth to our long standing association. She made me and all of Manuel´s collaborators feel welcome. His achievements, both in science and as a friend and family man, would not have been possible without Inge’s presence at his side. His sudden departure took us all by surprise and I have a distinct feeling of loss and bewilderment. However, there is something fitting in the fact that he died at his workplace and did not have to face a time when to pursue such endeavors would be impossible.
We mourn him, we honor him and we extend our condolences and solidarity to Inge and the rest of his family. He lived a rich life and left his mark on many people in whose hearts he will continue to live for quite some time.
Fernando Cerdeira
July 8, 2014
Dear Manuel - wherever you are now, Many thank for sharing part of your life and extended scholarship with me. You made my life a lot better and my physics sharper. You taught me about life and Spanish history. We published a few papers together, but you also corrected my work on the history of wine in Spain. I owe you thanks for your time, wisdom, and knowledge. Thank you for sharing part of your life with me and for the wines we drunk together. You will always be in my memory. Missing you - Stefan.
Stefan K. Estreicher
(Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, Physics Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock)
July 8, 2014
As Director of the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB), from the National High Research Council (CSIC), as well as in my own name, I want to express our deepest sympathy for the sudden loss of our beloved friend and teacher Prof. Manuel Cardona. It is difficult to find the right words to say how deep we are grateful to Manuel for all the support he has provided to Spanish science and, particularly, to the development of Materials Science here. Manuel was the first Director of the International Scientific Committee of all the Materials Science Institutes of the CSIC which were created 27 years ago in Spain. His commitment to the success of this novel, and very successful, initiative was essential. In many aspects the impressive growth of Materials Science research in Spain during the last 25 years owes a lot to his mastery, guiding and influence. His very deep sentimental passion for Barcelona and Catalonia, the city and country where he was born, certainly made him feel at home here. His memory is already permanently attached to ICMAB where our library bears his name. We will always remember him.
Moltes gràcies Manel per tot!
Prof. Xavier Obradors
(Director Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB- CSIC), Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain)
July 8, 2014
We were shocked to hear of the sudden death of Manuel Cardona. He was not only one of the most widely cited physicists of our times, but a very warm-hearted, kind and inspiring man. We were particularly impressed with his productivity and his strong interest in historical and cultural issues. His death is a severe loss for science. In the ongoing project to document the history of the MPI-FKF, to be published in 2019, he will be reserved a special place.
Prof. Dr. Klaus Hentschel
(History Department, University of Stuttgart)
July 8, 2014
On behalf of myself and of colleagues of the Physics Department of the Aristotle's University of Thessaloniki, I wish to express our deepest condolences for his death. Besides the scientific achievements and the tremendous impact that Prof. Cardona had for solid state physics worldwide, our Department has a particularly deep debt of gratitude to him, for his advice, guidance, and continuous support of many stuff members of our department. For that reason he has been awarded an Honorary doctorate degree. I had the privileged of being associated with him and get to know him and Mrs Cardona on a personal level, as a PhD student and postdoc at MPI-FKF. Please convey my heartfelt condolences and sympathy to Mrs Inge Cardona. He will be greatly missed.
Sotirios Ves
(Prof. Dr. Sotirios Ves, Physics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
July 8, 2014
I was shocked when I learnt of Prof. Manuel Cardona's death, and I feel if deeply. I am very sorry we have lost him. I was always impressed by his never declining energy, enthusiasm, interest and curiosity, not only for science, but for every possible subject of learning. He was very supportive and generous with his time and efforts to lots of young scientists. I am very grateful for his continued support during my career. In my experience as a postdoc in the Abteilung Cardona, he was never a boss, always a colleague, finding and showing the way in eye-opening discussions. He and Inge were always welcoming at their home with genuine regard and warmth, for which myself and my family are very grateful. Our deepest condolences to Inge and their family.
Emilio Artacho
(Nanogune, Spain, and University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
July 8, 2014
We have received with sincere sadness the news about the demise of Prof. Manuel Cardona. In my own name and on behalf of the CSIC, please accept our deepest condolence for his loss. We have lost a great scientist, friend and man. His successful professional career earned him all of our respect and admiration. We send our sympathies to the Max-Planck-Institute, to his friends and, in particular, to his family.
Prof. Emilio Lora-Tamayo
(President of the CSIC, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain)
July 8, 2014
Manuel Cardona had a big influence on physics, and also a happy influence on my life in physics. Those of us working in Berkeley with Marvin Cohen in the late 1960’s heard Cardona’s name daily. He was the professor at Brown University who was making the measurements that inspired our computations.
It is hardly necessary to mention that my first meeting with Cardona is remembered vividly. It was in the Spring of 1974. The Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart (of which Manuel was a founding director) had just moved to the new building in Büsnau. Manuel was (to me) surprisingly young, and (of course) energetic, and (of course) extremely busy on the day of my visit. I somehow got into his office for a moment. Before he had managed to finish evicting me, I blurted out that Heine and I had some clarification to the theory of band-gap temperature dependence. Manuel then forgave my intrusion and allowed a brief and enjoyable discussion. I decided to return, which happened a few years later, when I had a year’s leave from Stony Brook. It was an excellent decision, and was repeated a second time. My children were very happy discover that they could not just survive, but truly enjoy life in a new culture, language, and environment. Ellen (my wife) and I had a happy social life, thanks in large part to Manuel and Inge.
It was very interesting to work with Manuel. We had a standing appointment on Fridays at 4pm. In spite of the piles of work on his desk, he always had a stack of clean MPI letter-head paper available, and a clean corner on a table. It was soon filled with diagrams and hen-tracks. Manuel would begin exactly where we had left off the previous Friday. I, of course, had little recollection of where exactly our prior discussions had ended. It is hard to accept that those days are over. Solid State Physics has matured far beyond our dreams in 1974. New generations of scientists are remaking the map. But Cardona’s beneficial influence will be long felt. I will always enjoy remembering the enthusiasm he had for his life in Science, and his life with Inge, and his easy way of pushing us all forward.
Phil Allen
(Stony Brook University, New York, USA)
July 8, 2014
There are people whom one does not forget easily. Manuel Cardona was one of them.
Hans D. Hochheimer
(Dr.rer.nat., Dr. habil. Professor and Chair Emeritus Colorado State University)
July 7, 2014
Dear Manuel, you will always stay with us. There will be no way that we forget you, your generosity, your knowledge, your patience and your amusing stories. It was great working with you; there was no need to receive any order from you, your example and your tireless work capacity were enough to motive all us. It was great to be allowed to knock at your door at any moment knowing that you would be always willing to help us, it was fantastic your intuition about physics and how you would reduce the most intricate problem to an apparently simple one.
We will never forget that you not only cared about your collaborators in scientific related matters but that you cared about them as persons, and that you were always helping if it was necessary. Also the parties at your home will be always in our memories, where Inge would listen to any conversation that one would have with her as this would be the most interesting subject that one could ever hear. She had the especial ability to make one feel comfortable while talking to her.
Indeed, you will never be alone in our memories, you will be always with Inge. Thanks to both of you for hosting us while we were in Stuttgart, you were able to make us feel at home, and well protected, although we were very far away from home.
Luis Vina
(Universidad Autonoma de Madrid)
July 7, 2014
I meet for the first time Professor Manuel Cardona (Manolo for many of us) in Buenos Aires in 1965 when he came to the University as a fellow of the Ford Foundation, he came with his wife Inge and his three sons Michael, Angela and Steve. After that I went to Brown U. to finish my thesis under his direction. Later we meet many times, the last in Buenos Aires when he was awarded the “Luis Federico Leloir prize” in 2012. During these fifty years we kept a deep friendship with him and his wife Inge. I am extremely sad to learn about the news, it was completely unexpected, I understood there was going to be a conference to honor him in his 80th birthday. For many of us in Argentina Manolo was not only a teacher, it was a friend, a guide and was always ready to help in the difficult times we had to endure. My condolences to Manolo’s family.
Anibal Gavini
July 7, 2014
I want to express my deepest condolences by the loss of Professor Manuel Cardona, corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona. I meet Manuel many years ago and I was very grateful when he accepted to chair the Advisory Committee of the Institute of Material Science, in the campus of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, when I was the Rector of the University. Later he accepted the presidency of an Advisory Board to assess the Catalan Administration about constructing a synchrotron light source, the present ALBA Synchrotron.
Prof. Ramon Pascual
(President of the Executive Committee of the ALBA Synchrotron Light Source, President of the Royal Academy of sciences and Arts of Barcelona)
July 7, 2014
Institute of Physics, University of Tartu express their deep condolence to Max Planck Institute in connection with the loss of Professor Manuel Cardona, one of the greatest scientists who has ever worked in condensed matter physics. Many members of our Institute have been closely connected with Professor Cardona. We all are feeling a big personal loss now. Please accept our deepest condolences.
Prof. Jaak Kikas
(Director, Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Estonia)
July 7, 2014
I know Manuel Cardona since my early times as diploma student in the group of Wolfgang Richter at RWTH Aachen, and had the honor to work with him as postdoc at MPI FKF in mid 90´s. I remember Manuel Cardona as an institution in solid state physics and solid state spectroscopy, someone who developed the understanding of solid state physics in a really distinguished manner. Characteristic to Manuel Cardona was bringing experiment and theory together, showing that both were two sides of the same medal - equally important for understanding and modelling of solid state phenomena. His place in solid state physics remains open.
Prof. Dr. Norbert Esser
(Direktor Forschungsbereich Material- und Grenzflächenanalytik, Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften - ISAS - e.V., Dortmund, Berlin, Germany)
July 7, 2014
I have no words to express how deeply sorry I am to hear the news about Manuel. We are all shocked and saddened by such an unexpected loss. For many of us Manuel was like a master, a father and a true friend. I am fully aware that if it had not been for his help, advice and encouragement, the Materials Science lnstitute of Barcelona would not exist today. The library of the lnstitute bears his name since many of its best books were donated by him.
On behalf of all his friends and myself we send you our sincere condolences to you and your family.
Prof. Carles Miravitlles
(Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, CSIC, ICMAB)
July 7, 2014
I just feel the need of expressing my gratitude to Manuel Cardona for his books, his papers, for all his work on Raman scattering, and also for his company when he visited Zaragoza. Walking around the old town he was surprised by our "mudejar" architectural style and asked about it with real interest, making true, once more, that curiosity is the mother of science.
María Luisa Sanjuán
(ICMA, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain)
July 7, 2014
I am extremely sorry, shocked and sad to learn of Manuel's demise. We have lost a great physicist and original thinker of our times and a wonderful human being who will be missed by all of us. Please convey my condolences to Mrs Inge Cardona. I had the privileged of being associated with him and get to know him and Mrs Cardona on a personal level. I and my wife are deeply touched. May God give strength to his family members to bear this irreparable loss. With my condolences to Manuel's family and entire Max Planck fraternity for their loss.
Ajay Sood (Bangalore)
July 6, 2014
I joined the MPI-FKF in September 1999 working in the High Pressure Group under the supervision of Dr. Karl Syassen. Soon after my arrival, I met Prof. Manuel Cardona who always approached Karl with new and interesting ideas to perform high-pressure studies in semiconductors. Since then, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Manuel for many years in the field of Semiconductor Physics, studying CuBr, GaN, ZnS and ZnO. In all these works, most of them with my appreciated Rudolf Lauck and Jorge Serrano, I learned a lot of Semiconductor Physics in discussions with Manuel, who never got nervous when explaining his ideas to me despite it was not easy to follow some of his arguments from the first time.
Curiously, all our works together were published after my departure from Stuttgart to Spain and gave me the opportunity to establish a scientific career in Spain as Manuel wished. In this sense, I will always remember that on my departure from Stuttgart he told me he expected me to continue with studies in high-pressure physics. Today, I can say to Manuel that we have succeeded since I am now the leader of a high-pressure group in Spain. Thanks for all your support, Manuel. Rest in peace.
Francisco Javier Manjón
(MALTA-Consolider Team, Profesor Titular de Universidad, Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, E.T.S. Ingenieria del Diseno, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain)
July 5, 2014
To a great teacher. May your spirit be living forever, I pray for Inge and family for strength. I am so grateful to Manuel for what he gave to my life.
Prof. M. Kuball
(University of Bristol, United Kingdom)
July 5, 2014
We have lost one of the most dedicated and best experts in the field who has reached a quality that we miss on many occasions today. Cannot be replaced. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Prof. Dr. Michael Rübhausen
(Universität Hamburg, Institut für Angewandte Physik, Center For Free Electron Laser Science, Advanced Study Group UHH)
July 4, 2014
In my personal name, and on behalf of the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), of which Prof. Cardona was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board, I wish to express our deepest condolences for his loss. Besides the tremendous importance that Prof. Cardona had for solid state physics worldwide, and to the development of that scientific discipline in Spain, our institute has a particularly deep debt of gratitude to him, for his involvement on the development of our center, and his advice, guidance, and continuous support. He will be greatly missed.
Pablo Ordejón
(Director ICN2 - Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia, Bellaterra-Barcelona, Spain)