Physicist Walter Henning Receives Merit Cross

Physicist Walter F. Henning of Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., was awarded a Cross of Merit of the First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany by German President Horst Köhler at a ceremony this month in Berlin.

Argonne National Laboratory physicist Walter F. Henning (center) received a Cross of Merit of the First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany this month in Berlin. Henning is shown here with Köhler and his wife, Eva Luise. (Image courtesy Argonne National Laboratory)

Henning was honored for his role in landing a €1 billion accelerator facility, to be built at GSI Darmstadt, where he was director. The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), a collaboration of 14 nations, will be the site for advanced physics, biological and materials research. Construction is expected to begin in November. Henning left GSI Darmstadt and a faculty position at the University of Frankfurt in June to rejoin Argonne and head the laboratory’s effort to build a proposed exotic beam facility for nuclear physics research. He was previously of the physics division at Argonne and an Argonne Distinguished Fellow.