Heinz Oberhummer was born in 1941 in Bischofshofe, Austria. He studied physics and mathematics at the Karl-Franzens-University Graz and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. He received his PhD from the University of Graz in 1977 and his habilitation in 1980. From 1988-2006 he was university professor for theoretical physics at the TU Vienna.

Oberhummer authored numerous scientific as well as popular scientific publications, including several bestsellers. His work on nucleosynthesis (the formation of heavy atoms in the interior of stars) and on the fine tuning of the universe attracted international attention (including a nomination for the Nobel Prize in physics). As a member of the science cabaret "Science Busters" he received numerous prizes and awards. Guest performances of the "hottest science boy group in the Milky Way" in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland were frequently sold out.

Heinz Oberhummer died on November 24, 2015, in Vienna from pneumonia. On behalf of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung Michael Schmidt-Salomon wrote a eulogy to an "exceptional person".

Publications (selection):

• Science Busters: Das Universum ist eine Scheißgegend, 2015
• Science Busters: Gedankenlesen durch Schneckenstreicheln. Was wir von Tieren über Physik lernen können, 2012
• Science Busters: Wer nichts weiß, muss alles glauben, 2010
• Kann das alles Zufall sein? Geheimnisvolles Universum, 2008
• H. Oberhummer, A. Patkos, T. Rauscher: Origin of the Chemical Elements. In: Handbook of Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 2, Kap. 1, Kluwer, 2003.
• H. Oberhummer, A. Csótó, H. Schlattl: Stellar production rates of carbon and its abundance in the Universe, Science 289, 2000, 88
• Kerne und Sterne. Einführung in die Nukleare Astrophysik, 1993

Further information:

• Website of the "Science Busters"