2005 Buessem Award Recipient

Karl Heinz Härdtl received his undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from the Justus-Liebig University of Giessen, Germany, in 1957 and 1959, respectively. For the next 23 years, he worked for Philips Research Laboratory in Aachen, Germany. During the 1960s, his research focused on the interaction of point defects and conductivity on semiconducting barium titanate. His later work showed how defect chemistry can help to improve ferroelectric ceramics used in electronic devices.

He began teaching as a Professor in Electrical Engineering at the Universität Karlsruhe (TH) in 1982. He was chairman of the Department of Technology and Electronics (ITE) and was granted emeritus status in 1996. During this time, Härdtl’s scientific work focused on ferroelastic properties of PZT, the degradation of dielectric ceramics, and the interaction of gases with perovskite-type titanates used for gas sensor applications. In 1994 he was awarded the Edward C. Henry Award of the American Ceramic Society for his work on the field-induced degradation of perovskite-type titanates.

Dr. Härdtl was the author of 43 published (reviewed) papers and holds 23 patents.

The Center for Dielectric Studies presented the Wilhelm R. Buessem Award to Dr. Härdtl at the CDS Awards Dinner in Annapolis, Maryland, on November 10, 2005.

Karl Heinz Härdtl passed away on August 28, 2007.