Gero Vogl graduated as Dr. phil. (Physik) at Universität Wien, Austria in 1965. He afterwards joined the Physikdepartment of Technische Universität München, Germany where he was habilitated in 1974 (Dr.rer.nat.habil.). In 1977 he became professor of experimental physics at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany and in 1985 full professor of physics at Universität Wien, Austria. From 1999 till 2001 he served as chairman of the Department of Structural Research at the Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin (Germany) before returning to Universität Wien from where he retired in 2009. For 40 years Gero Vogl’s scientific interests were centered on the dynamics of solid matter, i.e. lattice vibrations and in particular diffusion. He introduced several new methods, all based on the application of nuclear physics to the solid state (Nuclear Solid State Physics). To this aim he made use of research centers round the world using the most powerful neutron and x-ray sources spending altogether several years in France, USA, Japan and India. After 2005 Gero Vogl devoted much of his capacity to interdisciplinary research in the field of spread and diffusion together with experts from various other disciplines, publishing two booklets aiming at promoting the ideas. The present book lies exactly on this line. Presently he attempts to make use of models from physics to understand what drives language change, a phenomenon which threats to extinguish a good part of today’s languages. Corresponding member of Saxonian Academy of Sciences.
