For over 30 years he stood at the forefront of German and international fusion research. Beginning in 1957 he worked with Werner Heisenberg at the Max-Planck-Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Gottingen. In 1960 he co-founded the IPP in Garching and belonged to the IPP Directorate until 1981. From 1965 until his retirement in 1987, he was a member of the Scientific Council of the IPP. Beginning in 1970 he headed the newly-formed experimental department E3, building first the Pulsator tokamak and then the divertor tokamak ASDEX. In his last professional years, he returned from management to research. On ASDEX his interest was plasma stability at the beta limit.

Gerhart von Gierke started the two most successful fusion concepts in the IPP, the stellarator and the tokamak. Both continue to form the backbone of the experimental programme of the IPP. In particular, the operation of ASDEX in the eighties led to decisive contributions to the progress of fusion research, and paved the way for the implementation of ASDEX-Upgrade at the IPP.

Gerhart von Gierke served on many research committees. He represented the IPP in the "Groupe de Liaison"; he was a member of the JET-supervisory board, in the JET "Executive Committee" - later he became its vice-chairman - and he was member and chairman of the "International Fusion Research Council" of IAEA in Vienna.

The international fusion research community mourns his passing.

For further information, contact Prof. Friedrich Wagner (fritz.wagner@ipp.mpg.de).