Obituary for Carl F. Wandel, rector of Aarhus University 1977-1983
Professor of physics Carl F. Wandel was a strong advocate for education as a core societal contribution during his time as rector of Aarhus University. He passed away at the age of 95 on 27 March.
It was almost inevitable that Carl F. Wandel would have international vision. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1929 and grew up in Denmark, where he graduated from Christianshavns Gymnasium in Copenhagen. He then continued his studies in physics under Niels Bohr and obtained a Master’s degree in 1954. After this, he worked as a member of academic staff at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
In the summer of 1959, he was invited to give a guest lecture on reactor physics at the Department of Physics at Aarhus University. At this point, he was actually employed at the Nuclear Energy Commission’s test facility in Risø, but Aarhus enticed him, and in 1964, at the age of 34, he was appointed professor of physics at Aarhus University. He held this position for a number of years and served terms as both head of department and dean before being elected as rector in 1977.
As rector, Carl F. Wandel steered the university through a time of great change. He worked to foster both academic freedom and the university’s social obligations.
His focus on education was closely linked to his commitment to research. He understood and emphasised the importance of university education as a significant contribution to society – a belief that Aarhus University continues to build upon.
Carl F. Wandel also played an active role in promoting collaboration between European universities. He helped lay the foundation for what later became the EU's Erasmus exchange programme for students and early career researchers. He later highlighted this as one of his most important achievements.
After his term as rector, he also participated in the development of a national researcher recruitment programme.
Carl F. Wandel aimed to forge connections between the university and the city of Aarhus, focusing on strengthening ties between the university and the city’s institutions.
Carl F. Wandel also used his expertise in nuclear power to contribute to public debate. He expressed his disappointment that Denmark dismissed nuclear power so early on – an energy source that he described as one of the most stable and preferable to fossil fuels and their waste. This was a striking and controversial view at the time, but today the debate looks different, which only serves to highlight Carl F. Wandel’s foresight and societal engagement.
After his retirement in 1999, he did not relinquish his professional curiosity. At the age of 91, he invited the current head of the Department of Physics, professor Ulrik Uggerhøj, to his home to discuss a complex relativistic issue. The conversation revealed that the head of department was sitting across from someone who remained sharp-minded, up-to-date on relevant literature and concerned with the big questions of physics.
In 2022, he featured in the DR TV series 'Niels Bohr’s Secret', in which he shared his personal experiences as one of Bohr’s young students in the early 1950s.
At Aarhus University, he will be remembered as a skilled researcher, a committed teacher and a visionary rector.
Let us pay tribute to Carl F. Wandel’s memory.