Obituary: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hotop

The Department of Physics at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau mourns the death of

Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hotop,

deceased on 14 May 2025 at the age of 82.

Professor Dr. Hartmut Hotop was a member of the Department of Physics from 1980 to 2008.

RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Department of Physics have lost a highly esteemed scientist, a dedicated university lecturer and a reliable colleague in Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hotop, who left a lasting personal mark on the department.

After studying physics and completing his doctorate at the University of Freiburg, Professor Hotop was appointed as a professor in 1975. In 1977, he was called to a professorship of experimental physics at the University of Kiel. In 1980, he was appointed to a C4 professorship in the Physics Department at the former University of Kaiserslautern, where he conducted research and taught until his retirement on 30 September 2008.

He achieved high international recognition for his work in atomic and molecular physics. He was, among other things, spokesman for the Collaborative Research Centre 91, which focused on ‘Energy transfer in atomic and molecular collision processes’, for many years. From 1985 to 1987, he was Dean of the Physics Department and a member of the University Senate. He devoted many years to shaping the department, acting as co-founder of the Foundation for Physics and as initiator and long-standing chairman of the Physics Alumni Association, whose activities were always close to his heart.

In Professor Hotop, we have lost an outstanding researcher, passionate university lecturer and highly esteemed companion. His work will remain unforgotten.

Our condolences go out to his family.

Prof. Dr. Georg von Freymann

Dean of the Department of Physics