1929 – 2008
Jürgen Ehlers was a German theoretical physicist and philosopher of physics known for foundational work in general relativity and the conceptual foundations of spacetime theories. He contributed to the constructive axiomatic approach to relativity, notably the Ehlers-Pirani-Schild (EPS) framework, which derives spacetime geometry from primitive notions of light rays and freely falling particles rather than clocks and rigid rods.
Co-developed the Ehlers-Pirani-Schild constructive axiomatics of spacetime
Founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Potsdam
Advanced the theory of gravitational lensing and kinetic theory in general relativity
Clarified the Newtonian limit of general relativity (frame theory)
Contributed to the understanding of exact solutions and cosmological models in GR