Prof. Dr. Karl Fuchs studied geophysics in Hamburg, London and Clausthal. After employment in the exploration industry (1957-1959), he obtained his PhD in Clausthal on seismic wave propagation (1959-1963). After a postdoctoral period in Clausthal and USA, he moved to the Geophysical Institute of the University of Karlsruhe (TH) in 1965. From 1971 to 1997 he was its director and became emeritus in 1997. Prof. Fuchs did research on seismic wave propagation in the Earth, the structure of the lithosphere, and tectonic stresses. He was a leading geophysicist nationally and internationally, held many honorary positions, and received numerous awards.
Awards and honorary positions
- Fellow American Geophysical Union (class of 1986)
- Fellow Geological Society of London (1989)
- Honorary Fellow Royal Astronomical Society
- Member Academia Europaea (Earth and Cosmic Sciences, 1990)
- Initiator and Speaker CRC 108 (1981-1995)
- President (1977-1979) and Honorary Member (1992) German Geophysical Society
- Member Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (1990)
- Visiting Cox-Professor Stanford University 1990 & 1994
- Vicepresident European Union of Geosciences
- President International Lithosphere Program (1985-1990)
- Initiator EUROPROBE
- Professor honoris causa University of Bucharest (2002)
- Karl-Heinrich-Heitfeld-Price German GeoUnion (2002)