07.10.2013

DESY mourns Gustav-Adolf Voss

Prof. Gustav-Adolf Voss, former director of the accelerator division at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, passed away on 5 October in Hamburg at the age of 84.

Prof. Gustav-Adolf Voss

Gustav-Adolf Voss was the director of DESY's accelerator division from 1973 to 1994 and had a major impact on the development of particle accelerators worldwide. He was highly respected throughout the world and was a strong lifelong advocate of international cooperation in the field of science.

After studying physics and subsequently earning a Ph.D. at the Technical University of Berlin, Gustav-Adolf Voss had his first contact with DESY already when the research centre was founded in 1958/59. At that time, Voss was involved in the construction of the linear accelerator Linac I. In 1959 he went to Harvard University in Massachusetts, where he worked together with Kenneth Robinson to convert the Cambridge Electron Accelerator (CEA) into a storage ring, using a bypass. A special magnetic lens arrangement enabled the system to achieve electron-position collisions of several gigaelectronvolts for the first time ever. This promising result led to the construction of additional storage rings for high energy physics worldwide, including the DORIS ring at DESY in Hamburg.

Gustav-Adolf Voss, who became an Assistant Director at Harvard in 1964, was appointed to DESY’s Board of Directors in 1973. Under his leadership, DORIS was successfully put into operation and expanded. Beginning in 1975, he directed the planning and construction of the electron-positron storage ring PETRA, which achieved previously unprecedented collision energies. Under Voss’ skilled leadership, this accelerator was completed sooner than its American counterpart and constructed at a lower cost than planned. PETRA’s design and construction are still considered exemplary for all modern electron storage rings. In 1979 PETRA achieved one of DESY’s most notable scientific successes — the discovery of the gluon, the “glue” that holds together the quarks in the building blocks of atomic nuclei. PETRA was rebuilt several times later on and is today the most intense source of X-rays in the world.

Construction of Germany’s largest particle accelerator, the electron-proton storage ring HERA, began at DESY in 1984. The facility was successfully put into operation in 1991. Many projects were entrusted to Gustav-Adolf Voss’ capable hands, including the construction of the engineering buildings and the electron storage ring and the conversion of PETRA into a pre-accelerator. In addition, he recognized early on the great potential linear accelerators would have for the future of high energy physics. He also promoted promising and innovative accelerator concepts such as wakefield acceleration, as well as the further development of conventional normally conducting accelerators.


After Gustav-Adolf Voss retired in 1995, he remained in close contact with the DESY research centre and was always willing to provide personal assistance and expert advice.

In his later years, he actively promoted the SESAME synchrotron radiation source, which is currently being built in Jordan. The international SESAME research project brings together countries in the Middle East for the advancement of science. The facility also contains components from the former BESSY storage ring in Berlin.

Voss received many honours in recognition of his outstanding achievements in international physics, his important contributions to the development of particle accelerators in Europe and elsewhere, his support of Eastern European researchers after the collapse of the Soviet Union and his strong commitment to the SESAME project. Among other things, Voss was honoured with Germany’s Order of Merit, an honorary doctorate from the University of Heidelberg and the renowned Tate Medal of the American Institute of Physics. In 2009 Gustav-Adolf Voss also became the first recipient of DESY’s Golden Pin of Honour in recognition of his many achievements and great service to DESY.

With the death of Gustav-Adolf Voss, the DESY research centre has lost one of its most influential figures. His charismatic leadership, expert skills and foresight have greatly contributed to DESY’s current standing as an internationally leading accelerator laboratory. We owe him our sincere gratitude and will always hold him in high regard.