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'''Herwig Franz Schopper''' (28 February 1924 – 19 August 2025) was a German experimental physicist. He researched and taught at the University of Erlangen, the University of Mainz from 1958, the University of Karlsruhe from 1961, and the University of Hamburg from 1973. The same year, he became chairman of the directorate of the German [[DESY]] research centre. He was the director general of CERN for European research from 1981 to 1988. After retiring in Hamburg in 1989, he held functions such as president of the German Physical Society and president of the European Physical Society. He was a founding father of SESAME, an international laboratory in the Middle East, and of the Cyprus Institute.  

==Early life==
Schopper was born in Lanškroun, Czechoslovakia, on 28 February 1924,<ref name="DESY">[https://desy.de/desy_aktuell/2025/schopper_nachruf/index_ger.html "Herwig Schopper 1924–2025"]. ''desy.de'', 21 August 2025 (in German). Retrieved 21 August 2025.</ref> to a family of Austrian descent; his father was a teacher.<ref name="Munzinger">{{cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Herwig+Schopper/00/16197 | title = Herwig Schopper | encyclopedia = Munizinger Archiv | language = de | access-date = 26 August 2025 }}</ref> He grew up in a German-speaking town in the newly founded Czechoslovakia. A few years after Schopper's birth, his parents amicably divorced, and he lived with his mother during the week and with his father on weekends. His parents and relatives encouraged his scientific and musical interests.<ref name="Springer2024">{{Citation|title=Herwig Schopper: Scientist and Diplomat in a Changing World|first1=Herwig|last1=Schopper|first2=James|last2=Gillies|series=Springer Biographies |year=2024|publisher=[[Springer Verlag]]|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-51042-7|doi-access=free |bibcode=2024hssd.book.....S |isbn=978-3-031-51041-0 }}</ref>{{rp|1-11}}

Schopper was advanced one year early into secondary school and took his final exams in 1942, after being taught alone in his last year because his classmates had left school early with an {{ill|emergency diploma|de|Notabitur}}. In 1938, following the annexation of the Sudetenland as a result of the Munich Agreement, Schopper had become a German citizen. After completing school, he was conscripted into the Reich Labour Service and then drafted into the Wehrmacht, where he was assigned to the Luftwaffe's intelligence service. He chose a career as an officer, which meant alternating between training and combat service (twice on the Eastern Front, then in the West during the Ardennes Offensive). At the end of the war, Schopper was taken prisoner by the British in Schleswig-Holstein.<ref name="Springer2024"/>{{rp|15-29}}

==Life and career==
In the autumn of 1945, he began studying physics at the University of Hamburg.<ref name="Springer2024"/>{{rp|31}} It was here where he obtained his diploma in physics (1949) and his doctorate (1951),<ref name="Academia Europaea" /> studying under Wilhelm Lenz and Rudolf Fleischmann. In 1950/51 he was a research assistant with [[Lise Meitner]] at Stockholm and in 1956/57 at the Cavendish Laboratory under Otto Robert Frisch.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fraser |first=Gordon |date=2012 |title=The Quantum Exodus: Jewish Fugitives, the Atomic Bomb, and the Holocaust|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |page=142 |isbn=9780199592159}}</ref><ref name=CV_leo>{{cite web|url=http://www.leopoldina.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Mitglieder/CV_Schopper_Herwig_D.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae Professor Dr. Herwig Schopper |website=Leopoldina |access-date=1 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218150942/http://www.leopoldina.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Mitglieder/CV_Schopper_Herwig_D.pdf |archive-date=18 December 2015}}</ref>

During these fellowships, Schopper worked on nuclear physics and contributed substantially to the evidence of parity violation in weak interactions. He measured the circular polarization of gamma rays following a beta decay, thought unfeasible by Lee and Yang,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schopper |first=Herwig |date=14 March 1957 |title=Circular polarisation of gamma-rays: Further proof for parity failure in beta decay |journal=Philosophical Magazine |volume=2 |issue=17 |pages=710–713 |doi= 10.1080/14786435708242717|bibcode=1957PMag....2..710S }}</ref> and showed in the same experiment that the [[Helicity (particle physics)|helicities]] of neutrino and antineutrino are opposite. Later, he was involved in an experiment to test time reversal symmetry.<!--<ref name=courier_swiss>{{cite journal |date=December 2015 |title=Swiss Physical Society honours Herwig Schopper |url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/63159 |journal=CERN Courier |volume=55 |issue=10 |pages=33–34 |access-date=1 August 2016}}</ref> --> In 1956, he followed Fleischmann to the University of Erlangen where he continued to do research in optics and solid-state physics, with emphasis on thin metal layers, which he had started at Hamburg. Also he developed, along with Clausnitzer, the first source of polarised protons.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Clausnitzer |first1=G. |last2= Fleischmann |first2=R. |last3= Schopper |first3=H. |date=August 1956 |title= Erzeugung eines Wasserstoffatomstrahles mit gleichgerichteten Kernspins |journal= Zeitschrift für Physik |volume=144 |issue=4 |pages=336–342 |doi= 10.1007/BF01340806|bibcode=1956ZPhy..144..336C |s2cid=120961803 }}</ref> In 1957 he became Privatdozent at the University of Erlangen.<ref name=CV_leo />

From 1958 to 1961, Schopper was an associate professor at the University of Mainz where he established the Institute for Experimental Nuclear Physics. In 1960 and 1961 he worked under Robert R. Wilson at Cornell University to be introduced to elementary particle physics, namely the use of electron scattering to study the structure of the proton and neutron.<ref>{{cite speech |title=Scientific Day Address |author=Prof. Herwig Schopper |date=24 October 2004 |location=The Cyprus Institute |url=http://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/in-focus/%E2%80%9Cscientific-day%E2%80%9D-in-honor-of-prof-herwig-schopper%E2%80%99s-90th-birthday.html |access-date=1 August 2016}}</ref>

Schopper was appointed professor at the University of Karlsruhe in 1961 and director of the newly established Institutes for Experimental Nuclear Physics of TH Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/aipcorp/files/awards/tate-schopper.pdf |title=Professor Herwig Franz Schopper 2003 winner AIP Tate Medal for international leadership in physics |publisher=AIP |access-date=1 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018072401/https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/aipcorp/files/awards/tate-schopper.pdf |archive-date= 18 October 2015 }}</ref> In order to continue his research on electron scattering he set up a group to carry out one of the first experiments at [[DESY]]. He also created a group at [[CERN]] to investigate neutron scattering at high energies at the [[Proton Synchrotron]] (PS) and [[Intersecting Storage Rings]] (ISR). These experiments where then continued at the Institute for High Energy Physics (IHEP) in Serpukhov, Russia. The group made important contributions to the study of neutron-proton and neutron-nuclei scattering cross sections.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Engler |first1=J. |last2=Horn |first2=K. |last3=Mönnig |first3=F. |last4=Schludecker |first4=P. |last5=Schmidt-Parzefall |first5=W. |last6=Schopper |first6=H. |last7=Sievers |first7=P. |last8=Ullrich |first8=H. |last9=Hartung |first9=R. |last10=Runge |first10=K. |last11=Galaktionov |first11=Yu |date=11 May 1970 |title=Neutron-proton total cross-sections between 8 GeVc and 21 GeVc  |journal=Physics Letters B |volume=31 |issue=10 |pages=669–672 |doi= 10.1016/0370-2693(70)90031-6|bibcode=1970PhLB...31..669E }}</ref> For this purpose, the first hadron calorimeter was developed and optimised by Monte Carlo simulations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Engler |first1=J. |last2=Flauger |first2=W. |last3=Gibbard |first3=B. |last4=Mönnig |first4=F. |last5=Runge |first5=K. |last6=Schopper |first6=H. |date=1 January 1973 |title=A total absorption spectrometer for energy measurements of high-energy particles |journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods |volume=106 |issue=1 |pages=189–200 |doi= 10.1016/0029-554x(73)90063-3|bibcode=1973NucIM.106..189E }}</ref> Another group at Karlsruhe developed the first superconducting high frequency cavities in Europe, a technology which was transferred to CERN for particle separators and later for particle acceleration at [[Large Electron–Positron Collider|LEP]].<ref name="DESY" />

==At CERN==
At CERN, he was a research associate in 1966–67, became division leader of the Nuclear Physics Division in 1970, member of the directorate responsible for the co-ordination of the experimental programme until 1973 and chairman of the ISR Committee from 1973 to 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://press.cern/biographies/herwig-franz-schopper-b1924 |title=Herwig Franz Schopper |website=CERN Media and Press Relations |publisher=CERNpress |access-date=1 August 2016 }}</ref>

In 1973 Schopper became professor at the University of Hamburg and the chairman of the directorate of DESY, serving until end of 1980.<ref name=CV /> He was responsible for the installation of the [[ARGUS (experiment)|ARGUS]] detector at DORIS which later resulted in the first evidence of B – B bar mixing.<ref>{{cite report |author=Walter Schmidt-Parzefall |date=9 November 2007 |title=Proceedings of the ARGUS - Symposium: 20 years of B meson mixing 1987-2007 - The Discovery of B - B bar mixing  |url=http://www-library.desy.de/preparch/desy/proc/proc08-01.pdf |publisher=Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, DESY |pages=33–58 |access-date=1 August 2016 }}</ref> Also, by establishing HASYLAB at DORIS synchrotron light science became an important branch of research at DESY. He proposed and completed the construction of the electron-positron collider PETRA which led to the discovery and study of the gluon.<!--<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ellis |first=John |date=July 2009 |title=Those were the days: discovering the gluon |url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/39747 |journal=CERN Courier |volume=49 |issue=6 |pages=15–18 |access-date=1 August 2016}}</ref> ref lost--><ref>{{cite journal |last=Barber |first=D. P.|display-authors=etal |date=17 September 1979 |title=Discovery of Three-Jet Events and a Test of Quantum Chromodynamics at PETRA |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=43 |issue=12 |pages=830–833 |doi= 10.1103/PhysRevLett.43.830|bibcode=1979PhRvL..43..830B|s2cid=13903005}}</ref> During his mandate, DESY, a national laboratory became as far as science was concerned an international particle physics laboratory.  This included the start of the first collaboration with China.<ref name="DESY" />

From 1977 to 1979, Schopper was chairman of the Association of the German Large Research Centres (now Helmholtz Association) and member of various advisory bodies of the Federal Ministry of Research, the Deutsche Forschungs Gemeinschaft and the Max Planck Society.<ref name=CV_leo />

[[File:Prof. Herwig Schopper was the Director General of CERN (1981-1988).jpg|thumb|Schopper in 1982]]
After being member of the Scientific Policy Committee at CERN, Schopper was elected director general and served from 1981 to 1988.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schopper |first1=Herwig |last2=Gillies |first2=James |date=2024 |title=Herwig Schopper |journal=Springer Biographies |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-51042-7 |issn=2365-0613|doi-access=free |isbn=978-3-031-51041-0 }}</ref><ref name=CV>{{cite web |url=http://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Schopper_Herwig/CV |title=Herwig Schopper - Curriculum Vitae |date=7 June 2010 |website=Academia Europaea |access-date=1 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lohrmann |first=E. |year=1981 |title=Herwig Schopper — neuer Generaldirektor von CERN |journal=Physikalische Blätter |language=en |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=98 |doi=10.1002/phbl.19810370407 |issn=0031-9279|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=CV_leo /> His first task was to unite the two CERN laboratories existing at that time under two Directors General. The [[Large Electron–Positron Collider]] (LEP) was also proposed and constructed under his leadership. This facility allowed the verification of the standard model of particle physics, namely that it is a renormalizable field theory, leading to the award of the Nobel Prize to the theoreticians Veltman and t'Hooft. Furthermore, it enabled the precise determination of fundamental parameters of the electroweak force, such as the W± and Z masses, and proved the existence of three neutrino families.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schopper |first=Herwig |date=2009 |title=LEP The Lord of the Collider Rings at CERN 1980-2000: What Have We Learned from LEP? - Physics Results |location= Geneva, Switzerland |publisher=Springer |pages=113–142 |isbn=978-3-540-89300-4|doi=10.1007/978-3-540-89301-1_8 |chapter=What Have We Learned from LEP? – Physics Results }}</ref> Thus, this particle accelerator transformed high energy physics into a field of precision measurements and provided estimates to the mass of the top quark, Higgs boson and other supersymmetric and hypothetical particles. LEP was approved under the condition of a reduced and constant budget with the consequence that some unique activities at CERN (e.g. ISR) had to be abandoned. Schopper was obliged to introduce a new way of international collaboration for the four LEP experiments since CERN could not provide funds for them. The experiments became rather independent activities organised in a rather democratic way bringing together hundreds of scientists from many universities and national organisations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schopper |first=Herwig |date=2009 |title=LEP The Lord of the Collider Rings at CERN 1980-2000: The Approval, or How to Persuade Governments  |location= Geneva, Switzerland |publisher=Springer |pages=19–30 |isbn=978-3-540-89300-4|doi=10.1007/978-3-540-89301-1_3 |chapter=The Approval, or How to Persuade Governments }}</ref> The LEP experiments became a model for the later [[Large Hadron Collider|LHC]] experiments, shaping the way this organization works today. He contributed to the globalisation of research at CERN and was also responsible for the return of Spain and Portugal in the CERN's member states.<ref name="Wagner" /><ref name=courier_pt>{{cite web |date=27 October 2014 |title=Scientific Day honours Schopper's 90th |url=https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/in-focus/%E2%80%9Cscientific-day%E2%80%9D-in-honor-of-prof-herwig-schopper%E2%80%99s-90th-birthday.html |work=[[The Cyprus Institute]] |access-date=26 August 2025}}</ref>

==Later life and work==
[[File:Conference on RACIP2 Group Photo.jpg|alt=Schopper seated in a group at the Second International Conference on Research and Communications in Physics|thumb|Schopper at the Second International Conference on Research and Communications in Physics]]
Schopper was professor at the University of Hamburg from 1973 and professor emeritus from 1989.<ref name=CV /><ref name="Academia Europaea" /> From 1992 to 1994, he was president of the German Physical Society and president of the European Physical Society in 1995–97.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schopper |first=Herwig |date=July–August 2008 |title=A New Home for the EPS |url=https://www.europhysicsnews.org/articles/epn/pdf/2008/04/epn2008-39-4.pdf |journal=Europhysics News |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=10–11 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> For many years he was member of the scientific council of the [[Joint Institute for Nuclear Research]] in Dubna and of the board of trustees of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching.<ref name="DESY" />

At [[UNESCO]], he served as member of the Physics Action Council and chairman of the Working Group on Large Facilities, president of the scientific council of the Regional Office for Science and Technology ROSTE of UNESCO in Venice (2001–2002) and in 2003–2009 he was the chairman of the international advisory committee for the International Basic Science Programs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=19943&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=Award of UNESCO Albert Einstein Gold Medal to Professor Herwig Schopper |date=April 2004 |website=UNESCO |access-date=2 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010031739/http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D19943%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |archive-date=10 October 2012 }}</ref>

Schopper's vision of science without borders resulted in him becoming a founding father of SESAME, the laboratory for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, which provides an extremely bright light source to investigate a broad range of domains from condensed matter to biology and archeology.<ref name="Wagner" /><!--<ref name=courier_sesame>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Chris Llewellyn |last2=Sayers |first2=Zehra|author-link2=Zehra Sayers |date=July–August 2015 |title=SESAME: a bright hope for the Middle East |url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/61864 |journal=CERN Courier |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=19–22 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> ref lost--> In 1999–2008 he became president of the Preliminary International Council and later, after the formal foundation of SESAME, of the International Council. Without his dedication this international research facility would probably not have been built. SESAME was founded analogous to CERN, under the umbrella of UNESCO, with presently nine member states: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey. It provides an environment where countries with different political systems, traditions, religions and mentalities are able to work together peacefully.<ref name=s85>{{cite journal|title=CERN honours Schopper at 85|journal=CERN Courier|date=November 2009|volume=49|issue=9|page=36|url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/1734448}}</ref>

Schopper was a founding member of The Cyprus Institute at Nicosia, Cyprus, and from 2000, a Member of the board of trustees. He was also chairman of the Scientific Council, and member of the executive committee of the board of trustees of the Cyprus Institute.<ref>{{cite speech |title=Herwig Schopper's contribution to The Cyprus Institute |author=Prof. Costas N. Papanicolas |date=24 October 2004 |location=The Cyprus Institute |url=http://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/in-focus/%E2%80%9Cscientific-day%E2%80%9D-in-honor-of-prof-herwig-schopper%E2%80%99s-90th-birthday.html |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> He later worked as an advisor and goodwill ambassador on science for peace. He wrote articles about research policy, science and religion, and also science and society.<ref name="DESY" />

Schopper died in Hamburg on 19 August 2025, at the age of 101.<ref name="DESY" /><ref name="Munzinger" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gillies |first1=James |last2=Heuer |first2=Rolf |last3=Voss |first3=Rüdinger |date=2025-11-07 |title=Polymath, humanitarian, gentleman |url=https://cerncourier.com/polymath-humanitarian-gentleman/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=CERN Courier |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
===Honorary academic degrees===
Schopper received honorary doctoral degrees from: University of Erlangen (1982),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ehrendoktoren |url=https://www.fau.de/fau/erfolge-und-ehrenpersonen/ehrendoktoren/ |access-date=19 April 2024 |website=FAU |language=de-DE}}</ref> Moscow State University (1988),<ref>{{Citation |title=People and things |date=1989 |work=CERN Courier |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=27 |url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/1731614 |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> University of Geneva (1989),<ref>{{Citation |title=People and things |date=1989 |work=CERN Courier |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=23 |url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/1731684 |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> University of London, [[Joint Institute for Nuclear Research]] (Dubna) (1999),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary Doctors of JINR |url=https://www.jinr.ru/about-en/honorary-doctors-of-jinr/ |access-date=19 April 2024 |website=Joint Institute for Nuclear Research |language=en-US}}</ref>  Institute for High Energy Physics (Protvino), The Cyprus Institute (Nicosia) (2018)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/in-focus/graduation-ceremony-for-doctoral-students-of-the-cyprus-institute-attended-by-president-of-the-republic.html | title=Graduation Ceremony for Doctoral Students of The Cyprus Institute Attended by President of the Republic | access-date=18 March 2019 |website=The Cyprus Institute| date=23 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318095654/https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/in-focus/graduation-ceremony-for-doctoral-students-of-the-cyprus-institute-attended-by-president-of-the-republic.html | archive-date=18 March 2019 }}</ref> and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (2024).<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 June 2023 |title=Veranstaltungskalender |url=https://www.kit.edu/kit/veranstaltungskalender.php/event/52110 |access-date=7 March 2024 |website=Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie |language=de-de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 March 2024 |title=Mit 100 Jahren kehrt Physiker Herwig Schopper an Karlsruher Uni zurück |url=https://bnn.de/karlsruhe/mit-100-jahren-kehrt-der-physiker-herwig-schopper-an-die-uni-karlsruhe-zurueck |access-date=7 March 2024 |website=Badische Neueste Nachrichten |language=de}}</ref>

===Awards===
{{Div col}}
* {{ill|Physics Prize (Göttingen)|de|Physik-Preis der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen|lt=Physics Prize}} of [[Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities]] (1957)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://adw-goe.de/preise/kategorien/preise-fuer-biologie-fuer-chemie-und-fuer-physik/preistraeger-physik/ | title=Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen : Preisträger Physik | access-date=18 March 2019 |website=Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403040911/https://adw-goe.de/preise/kategorien/preise-fuer-biologie-fuer-chemie-und-fuer-physik/preistraeger-physik/ | archive-date=3 April 2017 }}</ref>
* {{ill|Carus Medal|de|Carus-Preis}} of the [[Academy of Sciences Leopoldina]] in [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]] (1957)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref name=Carus>{{cite web|url=https://www.leopoldina.org/ueber-uns/auszeichnungen/medaillen/carus-medaille/ |title=Carus-Medaille |publisher=Leopoldina |access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319035003/https://www.leopoldina.org/ueber-uns/auszeichnungen/medaillen/carus-medaille/ |archive-date=19 March 2019 }}</ref>
* {{ill|Ritter-von-Gerstner-Medaille|de}} (1978)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref name="x260">{{cite web | title=Schopper | url=https://indico.cern.ch/event/66622/sessions/109795/attachments/1018265/1449390/Ting_Schopper85.pdf | access-date=25 August 2025}}</ref>
* {{ill|Sudetendeutscher Kulturpreis|de}} (1984)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref name="x260" />
* Golden Plate Award of the [[American Academy of Achievement]] (USA) (1985)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref>
* Gold Medal of the [[Weizmann Institute]] (Israel) with CERN (1985)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{Citation |title=People and things |date=1988 |work=CERN Courier |volume=28 |issue=8 |pages=35 |url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/1731584 |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref>
* Commander's Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] (1989)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref name="x260" />
* [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]] (Austria) (1991)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Medalists Archive |url=https://www.wilhelmexner.org/en/medalists/ |access-date=19 April 2024 |website=Wilhelm Exner Medaillen Stiftung |language=en-US}}</ref>
* J. E. Purkyne Memorial Medal of the [[Czech Academy of Sciences]] (1994)<ref name="Academia Europaea" />
* [[Order of Friendship|Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation]] awarded by President Yeltsin (1996)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{Citation |last1=Schopper |first1=Herwig |title=From Science to Science Diplomacy |date=2024 |work=Herwig Schopper |pages=163–181 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-51042-7_8 |isbn=978-3-031-51041-0 |last2=Gillies |first2=James|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* [[Order of Independence (Jordan)|Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence]] awarded by King [[Abdullah II of Jordan]] (2003)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{Cite journal |year=2003 |title=Personalien |url=https://pro-physik.de/zeitschriften/download/18235 |journal=Physik Journal |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419123204/https://pro-physik.de/zeitschriften/download/18235 |archive-date=19 April 2024}}</ref>
* Tate Medal of the [[American Institute of Physics]] (2003)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aip.org/aip/awards/tate-medal/winners |title=Tate Medal Winners |publisher=AIP |access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233319/https://www.aip.org/aip/awards/tate-medal/winners |archive-date=30 December 2018 }}</ref>
* [[UNESCO Albert Einstein medal|UNESCO Albert Einstein Gold Medal]], Denmark (2004)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><!--<ref>{{cite journal |date=8 June 2004 |title=UNESCO and AIP honour Schopper |url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29100 |journal=CERN Courier |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> ref lost -->
* Silver Medal of SESAME International Council (2004)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref name="x260" />
* [[UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal|UNESCO Niels Bohr Gold Medal]] (2005)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><ref>{{cite journal |date=8 February 2006 |title=Herwig Schopper honoured |url=http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29533/2 |journal=CERN Courier |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819043018/http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29533/2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Scientific Merit Medal, Portugal (2009)<ref name="Academia Europaea" /><!--<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homepage Ciência Viva |url=https://www.cienciaviva.pt/ |access-date=18 April 2024 |website=www.cienciaviva.pt |language=pt}}</ref> ref lost-->
* Physics Medal of first grade of the Czech Physical Society and [[Union of Czech mathematicians and physicists|Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists]] (2010)<ref name="i129">{{cite web | last1=Hasani | first1=Ilire | last2=Hoffmann | first2=Robert | title=Academy of Europe: CV | website=Academy of Europe | url=https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Schopper_Herwig/CV | access-date=25 August 2025}}</ref>
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus]] (2012)<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2012 |title=Prof. Brezin and Prof. Schopper have been awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus. - The Cyprus Institute |url=https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/in-focus/prof-brezin-and-prof-schopper-have-been-awarded-the-grand-cross-of-the-order-of-merit-of-the-republic-of-cyprus.html |access-date=19 April 2024 |website=www.cyi.ac.cy |language=en-gb}}</ref>
* Golden Honorary Needle of DESY (Hamburg) (2013)<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2013 |title=News: Goldene Ehrennadel für Herwig Schopper |url=https://www.desy.de/sites2009/site_www-desy/content/e409/e8731/e8852/e290367/infoboxContent290441/DESYinform6-13-deWeb_ger.pdf |journal=DESY InForm |language=German |issue=Juni |pages=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008060418/https://www.desy.de/sites2009/site_www-desy/content/e409/e8731/e8852/e290367/infoboxContent290441/DESYinform6-13-deWeb_ger.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2023}}</ref>
* [[AAAS Award for Science Diplomacy]] (2019) <ref name=AAAS>{{cite web |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/architects-cooperative-middle-eastern-research-center-receive-2019-aaas-award-science | title=Architects of Cooperative Middle Eastern Research Center Receive 2019 AAAS Award for Science Diplomacy | access-date=17 March 2019 |website=American Association for the Advancement of Science | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130232534/https://www.aaas.org/news/architects-cooperative-middle-eastern-research-center-receive-2019-aaas-award-science | archive-date=30 January 2019 }}</ref><ref name=CC_2019>{{cite journal |title= SESAME pioneers bag AAAS award|url= https://cds.cern.ch/record/2666160|journal= CERN Courier|volume=59 |issue=2 |year=2019|pages=56}}</ref>
* Goldmedal of the [[:de::Heisenberg-Gesellschaft|Heisenberg Society]] (2024)<ref>{{Citation |last=Blümer |first=Johannes |title=Presentation of the Heisenberg Medal. Herwig Schopper - a century in physics |date=2024 |url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/2890906 |access-date=18 April 2024}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}

===Memberships===
{{Div col}}
* [[Academy of Sciences Leopoldina]] in [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leopoldina.org/mitglieder/mitgliederverzeichnis/member/32/  |title=Mitgliederverzeichnis: Prof. Dr. Herwig Schopper |author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=Leopoldina |access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319033944/https://www.leopoldina.org/mitglieder/mitgliederverzeichnis/member/32/ |archive-date=19 March 2019 }}</ref>
* [[Academia Europaea]] in London from 1992<ref name="Academia Europaea">{{cite web |url= https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Schopper_Herwig |title=Herwig Schopper |publisher=[[Academia Europaea]] |access-date = 26 August 2025 }}</ref>
* [[European Academy of Sciences and Arts|Academia Scientiarium et Artium Europea]] in Salzburg<ref>[[List of members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts]]</ref> 
* Corresponding member of the [[Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities|Bavarian Academy of Sciences]] in [[Munich]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://badw.de/gelehrtengemeinschaft/mitglieder.html?tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Bper_id%5D=2822&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5BpartialType%5D=BADWPersonDetailsPartial&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5BmemberType%5D=&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Baction%5D=show&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Bcontroller%5D=BADWPerson|title=Gelehrtengemeinschaft : Mitglieder|author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften |access-date=20 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320092832/https://badw.de/gelehrtengemeinschaft/mitglieder.html?tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Bper_id%5D=2822&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5BpartialType%5D=BADWPersonDetailsPartial&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5BmemberType%5D=&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Baction%5D=show&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Bcontroller%5D=BADWPerson|archive-date=20 March 2019}}</ref>
* Honorary member of the [[Hungarian Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mta.hu/koztestuleti_tagok?PersonId=19445|title=Az MTA köztestületének tagjai |author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=Magyar Tudományos Akadémia  |access-date=20 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320094430/https://mta.hu/koztestuleti_tagok?PersonId=19445 |archive-date=20 March 2019 }}</ref>
* Fellow of the [[Institute of Physics]] in London<ref name="i129" />
* Fellow of the [[American Physical Society]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=2006&unit_id=&institution=CERN|title=APS Fellow Archive|author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=APS |access-date=20 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320093835/https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=2006&unit_id=&institution=CERN|archive-date=20 March 2019}}</ref>
* [[Lisbon Academy of Sciences|Academy of Sciences]] in Lisbon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acad-ciencias.pt/academia/classe-de-ciencias-correspondentes-estrangeiros |title=Académicos, Classe de Ciências, Correspondentes Estrangeiros|author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=Academia das Ciências de Lisboa |access-date=21 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023044847/http://www.acad-ciencias.pt/academia/classe-de-ciencias-correspondentes-estrangeiros|archive-date=23 October 2018}}</ref>
* Member and trustee of the [[World Academy of Art and Science]] in San Francisco<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldacademy.org/view/general-listing?search_api_views_fulltext=schopper&field_address_country=All&field_address_locality=|title=WAAS : General Listing |author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=The World Academy of Art and Science|access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319081153/http://www.worldacademy.org/view/general-listing?search_api_views_fulltext=schopper&field_address_country=All&field_address_locality= |archive-date=19 March 2019 }}</ref> 
* Honorary Member of the [[Swiss Physical Society]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sps.ch/en/spg/honorarymembers/|title=SPS Honorary members|author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=Swiss Physical Society |access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924124033/https://www.sps.ch/en/spg/honorarymembers/|archive-date=24 September 2017}}</ref> 
<!--* Honorary Member of [[European Physical Society]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eps.org/page=distinction_honorary|title=EPS Honorary members |author=|publisher=EPS|access-date=19 March 2019}}{{dead link|date=August 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ref lost -->
* Honorary Member of the [[German Physical Society]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dpg-physik.de/auszeichnungen/ehrungen-der-dpg/ehrenmitgliedschaften/traeger|title=Trägerinnen und Träger der Ehrenmitgliedschaft |author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=The German Physical Society|access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226234152/https://www.dpg-physik.de/auszeichnungen/ehrungen-der-dpg/ehrenmitgliedschaften/traeger |archive-date=26 February 2019 }}</ref>
* Honorary Member of the [[Polish Academy of Sciences]]<ref name="b715">{{cite web | title=The PAU Members | website=Polska Akademia Umiejętności | url=https://pau.krakow.pl/index.php/en/structure/the-pau-members | language=pl | access-date=25 August 2025}}</ref>
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==Publications and books==
===Scientific publications===
Schopper wrote more than 200 original publications in optics, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics and accelerator technology, including:<ref name="Academia Europaea" />
* Fleischmann R. and H. Schopper, The determination of the optical constants and thickness of the layer of absorbent layers by means of the measurement of the absolute phase change ''Z.Physik'' 129.285 (1951) (first method for the measurement of the absolute phase upon reflection of light on the thin metal layers)
* H. Schopper, The interpretation of the optical constants of alkali metals, ''Z.Physik'' 135, 163 (1953) (the abnormal optical behaviour of thin alkali metal layers does not require a special physical state of the metal)
* H. Schopper, Circular polarization of gamma rays: Further proof for parity failure in beta-decay, ''Phil.Mag.'' 2, 710 (1957) (One of the experiments proposed by Lee and Yang, but considered impossible. In this experiment it was shown for the first time that the helicity of the neutrino and antineutrino are opposite.)
* G. Clausnitzer, R. Fleischmann and H. Schopper, Production of a hydrogen atom beam with parallel nuclear spins, ''Z.Physik'' 144, 336 (1956)
* H. Schopper and S. Galster, The circular polarization of internal and external bremsstrahlung, ''Nucl.Phys.'' 6, 125 (1958) (first measurement of the circular polarization of the internal bremsstrahlung of beta decay)
* J. Halbritter, R. Hietschold, P. Kneisel, and H. Schopper, Coupling losses and the measurement of Q-values of superconducting cavities, KFK-report Karlsruhe 3 / 86-6 (1968) (early publication of the study of superconducting cavities to accelerate particles)
* R. M. Littauer, H. Schopper, R. R. Wilson, Electromagnetic properties of the proton and neutron, ''Phys. Rev. Lett.'' 6, 286 (1961), Phys. Rev. Lett. 7, 141 (1961) and 7, 144 (1961) (measurement of nuclear form factors, improvement of the first measurements by R. Hofstadter)
* Behrend et al., Elastic electron-proton scattering at momentum transfers up to 110 fermi-2, ''Nuov.Cim.'' 48.140 (1967)
* J. Engler, W. Flauger, AS. Gibbard, F. Mönnig, K. Runge and H. Schopper, A total absorption spectrometer for energy measurements of high-energy particles, ''Nucl.Instr.Meth.'' 106, 189 (1973) (first usage and optimization of a 'hadron calorimeter')
* V. Boehmer et al., Neutron-proton elastic scattering from 10 to 70 GeV / c, Nucl.Phys. B91, 266 (1975) and other publications (neutron-proton scattering at high energies, the ISR at CERN and at the Institute for High Energy Physics in Protvino, Russia)
* L3 Collaboration, Upsilon production in Z decays, ''Phys.Lett. B'' 413, 167 (1997) and Heavy Quarkonium Production in Z decays,  CERN-PPE/92-99 and ''Phys.Lett.B'' (Schopper was principal author of these publications)
* H.Schopper, The light of SESAME: A dream becomes reality, ''La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento'', 40, 199 (2017)

===Books===
* H. Schopper, ''Matter and Antimatter'', Pieper Verlag (1989)<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Schopper | first1=H. | url=https://inis.iaea.org/records/6p033-qzj06 | title=Matter and antimatter |journal=[[International Atomic Energy Agency]] | date=1989 | access-date=26 August 2025 }}</ref>
* H. Schopper, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4Sysug8oMkUC ''LEP — The Lord of the Rings Collider at CERN 1980–2000''], Springer Verlag (2009); with a foreword by [[Rolf-Dieter Heuer]]; {{isbn|978-3-540-89300-4}}; e-book {{isbn|978-3-540-89301-1}}
<!--* Editor of Springer Materials, Landolt-Bornstein, Nuclear and Particle Physics-->
* H. Schopper and L. Di Lella, editors, [https://books.google.com/books?id=f9iiCgAAQBAJ ''60 years of CERN Experiments and Discoveries''], World Scientific (2015); pbk {{isbn|978-9814663182}}
* {{cite book |last1=Schopper |first1=Herwig |last2=Gillies |first2=James |title=Herwig Schopper: Scientist and Diplomat in a Changing World |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-51042-7 |year=2024 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-51042-7 |bibcode=2024hssd.book.....S |isbn=978-3-031-51042-7}}<ref name="Wagner">{{cite web| last = Wagner | first = Albrecht | url = https://cerncourier.com/a/herwig-schopper-scientist-and-diplomat-in-a-changing-world/ | title = Herwig Schopper: Scientist and Diplomat in a Changing World | work = Cern Courier | type = review | date = 2024 | access-date = 26 August 2025 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name| 5744416}}
* [https://inspirehep.net/author/profile/H.Schopper.1 Scientific publications of Herwig Schopper] on [[INSPIRE-HEP]]
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{{s-bef|before=[[Léon Van Hove]] and [[John Adams (physicist)|John Adams]] (co-directors)}}
{{s-ttl|title= [[List of Directors General of CERN|CERN Director General]]|years= 1981&ndash;1988}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Carlo Rubbia]]}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schopper, Herwig}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Lanškroun]]
[[Category:20th-century German physicists]]
[[Category:People associated with CERN]]
[[Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Experimental particle physics]]
[[Category:German nuclear physicists]]
[[Category:International Centre for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science Applications in the Middle East people]]
[[Category:Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts]]
[[Category:Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Hamburg]]
[[Category:German expatriates in Sweden]]
[[Category:German expatriate academics in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Presidents of the European Physical Society]]
[[Category:Presidents of the German Physical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology]]
[[Category:German men centenarians]]