Goetz Oertel

Goetz Oertel ( born August 24, 1934 in Stuhm, West Prussia ) is a German - American physicist and science managers in the United States.

Youth

In January 1945, Oertel fled with his parents, the mill director Egon Oertel and his wife Margaret born Wittek, westward, first to Gransee in Brandenburg, then to Triptis in Thuringia, where not the Red Army, but U.S. troops invaded. As Thuringia was handed over to the Soviets by the Potsdam Agreement, it went back to horse and cart, for the third time on, to Öhringen in Württemberg. The father fed the family with his hobby, genealogy.

After graduating from the Robert -Mayer -Gymnasium in Heilbronn and an industrial internship at the AEG in Stuttgart Oertel began to study in Kiel in the summer semester 1953 Physics at the Christian- Albrechts- University. The son of a Masurian he was in the 1954 Corps Masovia Palaiomarchia - active. He fought four duels and proved to be a senior.

Physicists in the U.S.

With a Fulbright scholarship he followed in September 1957, his doctoral supervisor in the United States. At the University of Maryland, he received an assistantship in physics. In 1960 he married Brigitte Beckmann. He was a neighbor and friend of Karl -Ludwig wheelwright.

After earning his doctorate ( Ph.D.) NASA hired him in January 1963 in its Langley Research Center as a researcher, continued his naturalization by and entrusted him with the management of an ongoing project. The engineers at NASA and General Electric had to be convinced that the project was not feasible and had to be fundamentally restructured by him. The experimental investigation results of the dissertation were published and resulted in two patent applications.

Solar Physics

1967 offered him the headquarters of NASA a Manager post in Washington, DC and enabled the continuation of the theoretical work. When he was appointed program director of the "ATM " on Skylab, entrusted with more and more functions, and finally made ​​the Chief of Solar Physics, had to be completed ( with success) the experimental work.

Nuclear energy

The Nixon wrote in 1974 for the first time a nationwide Federal Executive Development Program from which should break the isolation of the federal ministries, especially among the higher officials ( super -grades ). What was required was more "management" than pure skill. Approximately 8,000 "average " officials competed for 25 places. Oertel was adopted and had the " free choice " among the ministries. After the training course in Charlottesville ( South Carolina), he was each half a year Science Advisor to the President and the Office of Management and Budget - Department of Space, science and energy - at the Presidential Office. In 1975 he became head of the astronomy program in the Ministry of Science, 1976 Chief of Staff of the Assistant Administrator for Nuclear Energy ( ERDA ) and from 1977 to 1984 director of nuclear power plants ( including nuclear by-products and waste in defense ) in the new Department of Energy. Dislocations at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and brought to Albuquerque responsibility for 32,000 employees and a budget of $ 3 billion.

Astronomy

As Deputy Assistant Secretary, he came back in 1985 in the Department of Energy. Dealing with the consequences of the Challenger disaster and the Chernobyl disaster, his appointment came as President and Chief Executive of the AURA right. As a non-profit society operates, inter alia, the Hubble telescope, star and sun waiting in Arizona, New Mexico, and Chile, recently, the Gemini telescopes in Hawaii and Chile. After thirteen successful years Oertel refused the offered five-year renewal.

Others

Oertel and his wife have a daughter and a son. Oertel is a member of the Corps Masovia and Palaiomarchia. He enagiert in the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC

Honors

For the National Academy of Sciences, for foundations and universities, for North and South American Science Ministries Oertel still works. The National Academies elected him an associate for life. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded him the Dixy Lee Ray Award. The International Astronomical Union named an asteroid after him: goetzoertel ( 5074 ).