Peter Andreas Grünberg Professor, Nobel Prize Winner 2007, Institute of Solid State Research Germany

Born on 18 May 1939 in Pilsen (now Czech Republic)

1946: Resettlement to Lauterbach in Hesse, starts school
1950-1959: Grammar school in Lauterbach
1959-1963: Studies of physics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt (Main), intermediate diploma 1962
1963-1969: Continues studies of physics at Darmstadt University of Technology, diploma 1966, doctorŽs degree 1969
1966: Marries Helma Prausa. Three children: Andreas (1973), Sylvia (1974) and Katharina (1981)
1969-1972: Postdoctoral Fellow of National Research Council of Canada at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada
since 1972: Research scientist at the Institute of Solid State Research at Research Centre Jülich
1984: Habilitation at the University of Cologne, "Privatdozent"
1984-1985: Research stay at Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois, USA
1986: Activities in the field of antiferromagnetic coupling in Fe/Cr/Fe layers
1988: Work on the GMR effect in Jülich
1992: Appointment as adjunct professor at the University of Cologne
1998: Six-month research stay at the University of Sendai and at Tsukuba Research Centre, Japan
2004: After 32 years at the Research Centre, Peter Grünberg retires, but continues working
2007: Forschungszentrum Jülich awards Peter Grünberg the first Helmholtz Professorship

Prizes and Honours:
1994: APS International Prize for New Materials (with A. Fert und S.S.P. Parkin)
1994: IUPAP Magnetism Award (with A. Fert)
1996: Technology Prize of the "Association of Friends and Benefactors of Research Centre Jülich"
1997: Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize (with A. Fert und S.S.P. Parkin)
1998: German Future Prize awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany
2002: Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of Ruhr University Bochum
2003: External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society
2004: Manfred von Ardenne Prize for Applied Physics from the European Society of Thin Films (EFDS)
2006: Award for "European Inventor of the Year" by the European Commission and the European Patent Office
2007: Stern Gerlach Medal of the German Physics Society (DPG)
2007: Japan-Prize der Science and Technology Foundation of Japan (JSTF) (with A. Fert)
2007: Wolf-Foundation-Prize in physics (with A.Fert)
2007: Nobel Prize in physics (with A.Fert)
2008: Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
2008: Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Cologne
2008: Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology. II (Physics and Mechatronics Engineering), Saarland University.
2008: Freedom of the City Jülich
2008: Freedom of the City Lauterbach
2008: Order of Merit of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia
2008: Honory doctorate, Gebze Institute of Technology, Turkey
2008: Minerva Prize of Förderverein Museum Jülich
2008: Full Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of North. Rhine-Westphalia, Section for Engineering and Economics.
2009: Honory doctorate, University of Athens, Greece