Manuel Cardona (1934–2014)

Solid State Communications 195 (2014) v

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Manuel Cardona (1934–2014) Manuel Cardona Editor-in-Chief of Solid State Communications from 1992 to 2004 passed away on July 2, 2014. That day while doing some work at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart (Germany) Cardona suffered a massive heart attack from which he did not recover. Manuel Cardona was an outstanding, very prolific physicist. His research achievements have, and will continue to have, enormous impact in condensed matter science. Manuel was a warm human being. He was a highly regarded collaborator and great friend of many in the Solid State Communications community. Manuel Cardona was born in Cataluña, Spain in 1934. He studied Physics in Barcelona and in 1956 went to Harvard, where he completed a thesis under William Paul. In the United States Cardona carried out frontiers research on optical properties of semiconductors first at the RCA Labs and later as a professor of Physics at Brown University. In 1971 Cardona joined the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart (Germany) as one of its founding directors. As a Max Planck Director in Stuttgart the impact of Cardona’s activities on many areas of condensed matter science grew to have a global reach. Manuel Cardona was a Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, and of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain. He was also a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Cardona received a multitude of prizes and awards that recognized major achievements. Among these prizes are the Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids of the American Physical Society, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0038-1098(14)00341-X

awarded in 1984, and the Príncipe de Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technological Research awarded by the Royal Academy of Spain in 1988. The citation of the Isakson Prize states ‘for his vastly influential work elucidating the electronic and vibrational properties of semiconductors, particularly for his systematic studies using reflectance, modulation spectroscopy, and resonance-Raman techniques’. This citation precisely describes impact of research milestones of Manuel Cardona at the time of the award. In the intervening thirty years after the Isakson prize Manuel Cardona continued on a research path of great achievement that has been widely recognized and praised. Manuel Cardona was a collaborator, friend and mentor to many scientists in the condensed matter science. He was a greatly appreciated friend and asset to all of us in the Solid State Communications community. Manuel Cardona will be greatly missed. Elias Burstein Founder and first Editor-in-Chief, Solid State Communications Aron Pinczuk Editor-in-Chief, Solid State Communications Karien van Wetering Publisher, Solid State Communications