Dr. Knud Thomsen
Staff - NUM, Scientific Secretary PSI Research Committee
Paul Scherrer Institute
Forschungsstrasse 111
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland
Forschungsstrasse 111
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland
Telephone
Email
CV
| Since 2015 | Scientific Secretary of the PSI Research Commission |
| Since 2012 | Coordinator of Swiss in-kind contributions to ESS ERIC |
| 2006-2014 | Contributions to ESS Preparatory Phase, ESS Preconstruction Phase |
| 2002-2007 | Project Management and Safety Systems for MEGAPIE |
| 1989-2002 | Head of Space Technology Group, PSI Laboratory for Astrophysics, contributions to various satellite projects with ESA, NASA and Russia |
| 1983-1989 | AI Vienna, IAEA, JRC Ispra: Development of a Novel Surveillance System (LASSY) |
| 1980-1982 | Ph.D. studies on sputtering mechanisms, Laboratory General Physics, TU Vienna |
| 1976-1980 | Undergraduate studies (physics and mathematics) TU Vienna |
Research Interests
My research interests span a wide variety of fields. Focused on applications, fields of expertise include: Project management, Optics, Signal detection, Spacecraft Instrument Design, in particular mechanical and thermal topics, FE - Analysis, Safety Systems.
Most recent: Experiments employing neutrons investigating the effectiveness of the sculpturing moderator materials and for determining the movement of inclusions in electromagnetically agitated liquid metal.
Most recent: Experiments employing neutrons investigating the effectiveness of the sculpturing moderator materials and for determining the movement of inclusions in electromagnetically agitated liquid metal.
Awards
- "Begabtenstipendium" Technical University Vienna
- Several Group Achievement Awards from NASA and ESA for space projects
- Personal Award from ESA for contributions to XMM-Newton
Patent Applications
- Bearingless Gyroscope, K. Thomsen, WO 2004/P03943.
- Protection of Surfaces Against Cavitation Erosion, K. Thomsen, WO 2005/075838 A2.
- Sensor and method for determining the pressure in a fluid, K. Thomsen, No. 08872173.3-1236 PCT/EP2008067897.
- Lead-Gold eutectic as alternative target material in spallation neutron sources, together with R. Moormann, FZ Jülich.
Selected Publications
The Reflection Grating Spectrometer on board XMM-Newton
J.W. den Herder, A.C. Brinkman, S.M. Kahn, G. Branduardi-Raymont, K. Thomsen, H. Aarts, M. Audard, J.V. Bixler, A.J. den Boggende, J. Cottam, T. Decker, L. Dubbeldam, C. Erd, H. Goulooze, M. Güdel, P. Guttridge, C.J. Hailey, K. Al Janabi, J.S. Kaastra, P.A.J. de Korte, B.J. van Leeuwen, D. Muche, A.J. McCalden, R. Mewe, A. Naber, F.B. Paerels, J.R. Peterson, A.P. Rasmussen, K. Rees, I. Sakelliou, M. Sako, J. Spodek, M. Stern, T. Tamura, J. Tandy, C.P. de Vries, S. Welch und A. Zehnder, Astronomy and Astrophysics 365, L7-L17, 2001.
The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager RHESSI
R.P. Lin, B.R. Dennis, G.J. Hurford, D.M. Smith, A. Zehnder, P.R. Harvey, D.W. Curtis, D. Pankov, P. Turin, M. Bester, A. Csillaghy, M. Lewis, N. Madden, H.F. van Beek, M. Appleby, T. Raudorf, J. McTiernan, R. Ramaty, E. Schmahl, R. Schwartz, S. Krucker, R. Abiad, T. Quinn,, P. Berg, M. Hashii, R. Sterling, R. Jackson,, R. Pratt, R.D. Campbell, D. Malone, D. Landis, C.P. Barrington-Leigh, S. Slassi-Sennou, C. Cork, D. Clark, D. Amato,, L. Orwig, R. Boyle, I.S. Banks, K. Shirley, A.K. Tolbert, D. Zarro, F. Snow, K. Thomsen, R. Henneck, A. Mchedlishvili, P. Ming, M. Fivian, J. Jordan, R. Wanner, J. Chrubb, J. Preble, M. Matranga, A. Benz, H. Hudson, R.C. Canfield, G.D. Holman, C. Crannell, T. Kosugi, A.G. Emslie, N. Vilmer, J.C. Brown, C. Johns-Krull, M. Aschwanden, T. Metcalf and A. Conway, in The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager RHESSI - Mission Description and Early Results, R.P.Lin, B.R.Dennis and A. Benz (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Bosten, London, 2003.
Sabbatical für Kantonsschullehrer am PSI, ein Pilotversuch am Labor für Astrophysik
R. Eichler, R. Wehrli und K. Thomsen, PSI Bericht Nr. 01-06, Juni 2001.
Bearing-less Gyroscopes
K. Thomsen, Symposium Gyro Technology, Stuttgart, Germany, 2005.
Mitigation of cavitation effects by means of gas bubbles on a surface
K. Thomsen. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 356, Issues 1-3, Pages 321-324, 2006.
VIMOS, near-target beam diagnostics for MEGAPIE
K. Thomsen, NIMA 347-352, 2007.
A compound target concept for pulsed spallation sources
K. Thomsen, NIMA 1597-1599, 2007.
The MEGAPIE-TEST project: Supporting research and lessons learned in first-of-a-kind spallation target technology
C. Fazio, F. Gröschel, W. Wagner, K. Thomsen, B.L. Smith, R. Stieglitz, L. Zanini, A. Guertin, A. Cadiou, J. Henry, P. Agostini, Y. Dai, H. Heyck, S. Dementjev, S. Panebianco, A. Almazouzi, J. Eikenberg, A. Letourneau, J.C. Toussaint, A. Janett, Ch. Perret, S. Joray, J. Patorski, W. Leung, P. Meloni, P. Turroni, A. Zucchini, G. Benamati, J. Konys, T. Auger, A. Gessi, D. Gorse, I. Serre, A. Terlain, J.-B. Vogt, A. Batta, A. Class, X. Cheng, F. Fellmoser, M. Daubner, S. Gnieser, G. Grötzbach, R. Milenkovic, C. Latgé, J.U. Knebel, Nuclear Engineering and Design, Volume 238, Issue 6, pp. 1471-1495, 2008.
MEGAPIE at SINQ – The first liquid metal target driven by a megawatt class proton beam
W. Wagner, F. Gröschel, K. Thomsen, H. Heyck, Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 377, Issue 1, Pages 12-16, 2008.
Advanced on-target beam monitoring for spallation sources
K. Thomsen, NIMA 600, 38-40, 2009.
Structural-hydraulic test of the liquid metal EURISOL target mock-up
R.Ž. Milenković, S. Dementjevs, K. Samec, E. Platacis, A. Zik, A. Flerov, E. Manfrin, K. Thomsen, NIMA 279-292, 2009.
The PSI ultra-cold neutron source
A. Anghel, F. Atchison, B. Blau, B. van den Brandt, M. Daum, R. Doelling, M. Dubs, P.-A. Duperrex, A. Fuchs, D. George, L. Gültl, P. Hautle, G. Heidenreich, F. Heinrich, R. Henneck, S. Heule, Th. Hofmann, St. Joray, M. Kasprzak, K. Kirch, A. Knecht, J.A. Konter, T. Korhonen, M. Kuzniak, B. Lauss, A. Mezger, A. Mtchedlishvili, G. Petzoldt, A. Pichlmaier, D. Reggiani, R. Reiser, U. Rohrer, M. Seidel, H. Spitzer, K. Thomsen, W. Wagner, M. Wohlmuther, G. Zsigmond, J. Zuellig, K. Bodek, S. Kistryn, J. Zejma, P. Geltenbort, C. Plonka, S. Grigoriev, NIMA 272-275, 2009.
Pressure Measurement Based on Thermocouples
K. Thomsen, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sc. 57, 3694-3700. 2010.
A Case for a SINQ-type Cannelloni Target at the ESS Power Level
K. Thomsen, M. Butzek, F. Gallmeier, F. Heinrich and J. Wolters, NIMA 625, 5-10, 2011.
Lead–gold eutectic: An alternative liquid target material candidate for high power spallation neutron sources
M. Medarde, R. Moormann, R. Frison, R.J. Puz´niak, E. Pomjakushina, K. Conder, E. Platacis, Y. Dai, D. Kiselev, L. Zanini, S. Török, P. Zagyvai, S. Heinitz, J. Neuhausen, D. Schumann, K. Thomsen, Journal of Nuclear Materials 411, 72–82, 2011.
Experience from the post-test analysis of MEGAPIE
L. Zanini, S. Dementjev, F. Gröschel, W. Leung, R. Milenkovic, K. Thomsen, W. Wagner, M. Wohlmuther, Xu Cheng, A. Class, A. Konobeyev, P. Agostini, P. Meloni, J.-C. David, A. Letourneau, S. Leray, S. Panebianco, L. Cachon, C. Latgé, P. Roubin, A. Guertin, N. Thiolliere, M. Dierckx, Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 415, 367-377, 2011.
Neutron performance analysis for ESS target proposal
M. Magan, S. Terron, K. Thomsen, F. Sordo, J.M. Perlado, and J. Bermejo, NIMA 680, 61-68, 2012.
Some technical issues for a cannelloni spallation-target at high power
K. Thomsen, F. Heinrich, M. Butzek, J. Wolters, F. Sordo, A.I.S. Holm, NIMA 682, 42-48, 2012.
A comparison between the chemical behaviour of lead-gold and lead-bismuth eutectics towards 316L stainless steel
S. Heinitz, D. Schumann, J. Neuhausen, K. Thomsen, E. Platacis, O. Lielausis, I. Bucenieks, A. Zik, K. Kravalis, L. Buligins, Radiochimica Acta 1, 1-13, 2013.
Internal geometry and coolant choices for solid high power neutron spallation targets
L. Buligins, K. Thomsen, O. Lielausis, E. Platacis, A. Poznaks, NIMA 761, 58-68, 2014.
A neutron production target for ESS based upon the canned-rods concept
A. Ghiglino, S. Terrón, K. Thomsen, J. Wolters, M. Magán, F. Martínez, P.J. de Vicente, R. Vivanco, F. Sordo, M. Butzek, J.M. Perlado, F.J. Bermejo, NIMA 756, 73-81, 2014.
A Report on the First Neutron Radiography Experiments for Dynamic Visualization of Solid Particles in an Intense Liquid Metal Flow
M. Scepanskis, M. Sarma, R. Nikoluskins, K. Thomsen, A. Jakovics, P. Vontobel, T. Beinerts, A. Bojarevics, E. Platacis, Magnetohydrodynamics Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 257-265, 2015.
Assessment of Electromagnetic Stirrer Agitated Liquid Metal Flows by Dynamic Neutron Radiography
M. Scepanskis, M. Sarma, P. Vontobel, P. Trtik, K. Thomsen, A. Jakovics, T. Beinerts, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, published online 11 January 2017, doi:10.1007/s11663-016-0902-8
J.W. den Herder, A.C. Brinkman, S.M. Kahn, G. Branduardi-Raymont, K. Thomsen, H. Aarts, M. Audard, J.V. Bixler, A.J. den Boggende, J. Cottam, T. Decker, L. Dubbeldam, C. Erd, H. Goulooze, M. Güdel, P. Guttridge, C.J. Hailey, K. Al Janabi, J.S. Kaastra, P.A.J. de Korte, B.J. van Leeuwen, D. Muche, A.J. McCalden, R. Mewe, A. Naber, F.B. Paerels, J.R. Peterson, A.P. Rasmussen, K. Rees, I. Sakelliou, M. Sako, J. Spodek, M. Stern, T. Tamura, J. Tandy, C.P. de Vries, S. Welch und A. Zehnder, Astronomy and Astrophysics 365, L7-L17, 2001.
The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager RHESSI
R.P. Lin, B.R. Dennis, G.J. Hurford, D.M. Smith, A. Zehnder, P.R. Harvey, D.W. Curtis, D. Pankov, P. Turin, M. Bester, A. Csillaghy, M. Lewis, N. Madden, H.F. van Beek, M. Appleby, T. Raudorf, J. McTiernan, R. Ramaty, E. Schmahl, R. Schwartz, S. Krucker, R. Abiad, T. Quinn,, P. Berg, M. Hashii, R. Sterling, R. Jackson,, R. Pratt, R.D. Campbell, D. Malone, D. Landis, C.P. Barrington-Leigh, S. Slassi-Sennou, C. Cork, D. Clark, D. Amato,, L. Orwig, R. Boyle, I.S. Banks, K. Shirley, A.K. Tolbert, D. Zarro, F. Snow, K. Thomsen, R. Henneck, A. Mchedlishvili, P. Ming, M. Fivian, J. Jordan, R. Wanner, J. Chrubb, J. Preble, M. Matranga, A. Benz, H. Hudson, R.C. Canfield, G.D. Holman, C. Crannell, T. Kosugi, A.G. Emslie, N. Vilmer, J.C. Brown, C. Johns-Krull, M. Aschwanden, T. Metcalf and A. Conway, in The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager RHESSI - Mission Description and Early Results, R.P.Lin, B.R.Dennis and A. Benz (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Bosten, London, 2003.
Sabbatical für Kantonsschullehrer am PSI, ein Pilotversuch am Labor für Astrophysik
R. Eichler, R. Wehrli und K. Thomsen, PSI Bericht Nr. 01-06, Juni 2001.
Bearing-less Gyroscopes
K. Thomsen, Symposium Gyro Technology, Stuttgart, Germany, 2005.
Mitigation of cavitation effects by means of gas bubbles on a surface
K. Thomsen. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 356, Issues 1-3, Pages 321-324, 2006.
VIMOS, near-target beam diagnostics for MEGAPIE
K. Thomsen, NIMA 347-352, 2007.
A compound target concept for pulsed spallation sources
K. Thomsen, NIMA 1597-1599, 2007.
The MEGAPIE-TEST project: Supporting research and lessons learned in first-of-a-kind spallation target technology
C. Fazio, F. Gröschel, W. Wagner, K. Thomsen, B.L. Smith, R. Stieglitz, L. Zanini, A. Guertin, A. Cadiou, J. Henry, P. Agostini, Y. Dai, H. Heyck, S. Dementjev, S. Panebianco, A. Almazouzi, J. Eikenberg, A. Letourneau, J.C. Toussaint, A. Janett, Ch. Perret, S. Joray, J. Patorski, W. Leung, P. Meloni, P. Turroni, A. Zucchini, G. Benamati, J. Konys, T. Auger, A. Gessi, D. Gorse, I. Serre, A. Terlain, J.-B. Vogt, A. Batta, A. Class, X. Cheng, F. Fellmoser, M. Daubner, S. Gnieser, G. Grötzbach, R. Milenkovic, C. Latgé, J.U. Knebel, Nuclear Engineering and Design, Volume 238, Issue 6, pp. 1471-1495, 2008.
MEGAPIE at SINQ – The first liquid metal target driven by a megawatt class proton beam
W. Wagner, F. Gröschel, K. Thomsen, H. Heyck, Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 377, Issue 1, Pages 12-16, 2008.
Advanced on-target beam monitoring for spallation sources
K. Thomsen, NIMA 600, 38-40, 2009.
Structural-hydraulic test of the liquid metal EURISOL target mock-up
R.Ž. Milenković, S. Dementjevs, K. Samec, E. Platacis, A. Zik, A. Flerov, E. Manfrin, K. Thomsen, NIMA 279-292, 2009.
The PSI ultra-cold neutron source
A. Anghel, F. Atchison, B. Blau, B. van den Brandt, M. Daum, R. Doelling, M. Dubs, P.-A. Duperrex, A. Fuchs, D. George, L. Gültl, P. Hautle, G. Heidenreich, F. Heinrich, R. Henneck, S. Heule, Th. Hofmann, St. Joray, M. Kasprzak, K. Kirch, A. Knecht, J.A. Konter, T. Korhonen, M. Kuzniak, B. Lauss, A. Mezger, A. Mtchedlishvili, G. Petzoldt, A. Pichlmaier, D. Reggiani, R. Reiser, U. Rohrer, M. Seidel, H. Spitzer, K. Thomsen, W. Wagner, M. Wohlmuther, G. Zsigmond, J. Zuellig, K. Bodek, S. Kistryn, J. Zejma, P. Geltenbort, C. Plonka, S. Grigoriev, NIMA 272-275, 2009.
Pressure Measurement Based on Thermocouples
K. Thomsen, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sc. 57, 3694-3700. 2010.
A Case for a SINQ-type Cannelloni Target at the ESS Power Level
K. Thomsen, M. Butzek, F. Gallmeier, F. Heinrich and J. Wolters, NIMA 625, 5-10, 2011.
Lead–gold eutectic: An alternative liquid target material candidate for high power spallation neutron sources
M. Medarde, R. Moormann, R. Frison, R.J. Puz´niak, E. Pomjakushina, K. Conder, E. Platacis, Y. Dai, D. Kiselev, L. Zanini, S. Török, P. Zagyvai, S. Heinitz, J. Neuhausen, D. Schumann, K. Thomsen, Journal of Nuclear Materials 411, 72–82, 2011.
Experience from the post-test analysis of MEGAPIE
L. Zanini, S. Dementjev, F. Gröschel, W. Leung, R. Milenkovic, K. Thomsen, W. Wagner, M. Wohlmuther, Xu Cheng, A. Class, A. Konobeyev, P. Agostini, P. Meloni, J.-C. David, A. Letourneau, S. Leray, S. Panebianco, L. Cachon, C. Latgé, P. Roubin, A. Guertin, N. Thiolliere, M. Dierckx, Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 415, 367-377, 2011.
Neutron performance analysis for ESS target proposal
M. Magan, S. Terron, K. Thomsen, F. Sordo, J.M. Perlado, and J. Bermejo, NIMA 680, 61-68, 2012.
Some technical issues for a cannelloni spallation-target at high power
K. Thomsen, F. Heinrich, M. Butzek, J. Wolters, F. Sordo, A.I.S. Holm, NIMA 682, 42-48, 2012.
A comparison between the chemical behaviour of lead-gold and lead-bismuth eutectics towards 316L stainless steel
S. Heinitz, D. Schumann, J. Neuhausen, K. Thomsen, E. Platacis, O. Lielausis, I. Bucenieks, A. Zik, K. Kravalis, L. Buligins, Radiochimica Acta 1, 1-13, 2013.
Internal geometry and coolant choices for solid high power neutron spallation targets
L. Buligins, K. Thomsen, O. Lielausis, E. Platacis, A. Poznaks, NIMA 761, 58-68, 2014.
A neutron production target for ESS based upon the canned-rods concept
A. Ghiglino, S. Terrón, K. Thomsen, J. Wolters, M. Magán, F. Martínez, P.J. de Vicente, R. Vivanco, F. Sordo, M. Butzek, J.M. Perlado, F.J. Bermejo, NIMA 756, 73-81, 2014.
A Report on the First Neutron Radiography Experiments for Dynamic Visualization of Solid Particles in an Intense Liquid Metal Flow
M. Scepanskis, M. Sarma, R. Nikoluskins, K. Thomsen, A. Jakovics, P. Vontobel, T. Beinerts, A. Bojarevics, E. Platacis, Magnetohydrodynamics Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 257-265, 2015.
Assessment of Electromagnetic Stirrer Agitated Liquid Metal Flows by Dynamic Neutron Radiography
M. Scepanskis, M. Sarma, P. Vontobel, P. Trtik, K. Thomsen, A. Jakovics, T. Beinerts, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, published online 11 January 2017, doi:10.1007/s11663-016-0902-8
Scientific Hobby: Cognitive Science and Related Fields
The Ouroboros Model in the light of venerable criteria
K. Thomsen, Neurocomputing 74, 121-128, 2010.
Cognition According to the Ouroboros Model
K. Thomsen, in: B. Hu et al. (eds.): BI 2011, LNAI 6889, pp. 30–41, Berlin Heidelberg, Springer, 2011.
Stupidity and the Ouroboros Model
K. Thomsen, in: Bach, J., Goertzel, B. and Iklé, M. (Eds.): Artificial General Intelligence, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 7716, pp. 332–340, Berlin, Heidelberg, Springer, 2012.
The Cerebellum according to the Ouroboros Model, the ‚Interpolator Hypothesis’
K. Thomsen, Journal of Communication and Computer 11, 239-254, 2014.
The Ouroboros Model embraces its sensory-motoric foundations
Thomsen K., Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric 41, 105–125, 2015.
Gerecht und tolerant aus Vernunft und Eigeninteresse
Thomsen, K., Aufklärung & Kritik, 24. Jahrgang, Heft 62, Nr. 4, Oktober 2017.
ONE Function for the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and General AI:
Consistency Curation
Thomsen, K., Medical Research Archives 6, 1 January 2018.
K. Thomsen, Neurocomputing 74, 121-128, 2010.
Cognition According to the Ouroboros Model
K. Thomsen, in: B. Hu et al. (eds.): BI 2011, LNAI 6889, pp. 30–41, Berlin Heidelberg, Springer, 2011.
Stupidity and the Ouroboros Model
K. Thomsen, in: Bach, J., Goertzel, B. and Iklé, M. (Eds.): Artificial General Intelligence, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 7716, pp. 332–340, Berlin, Heidelberg, Springer, 2012.
The Cerebellum according to the Ouroboros Model, the ‚Interpolator Hypothesis’
K. Thomsen, Journal of Communication and Computer 11, 239-254, 2014.
The Ouroboros Model embraces its sensory-motoric foundations
Thomsen K., Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric 41, 105–125, 2015.
Gerecht und tolerant aus Vernunft und Eigeninteresse
Thomsen, K., Aufklärung & Kritik, 24. Jahrgang, Heft 62, Nr. 4, Oktober 2017.
ONE Function for the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and General AI:
Consistency Curation
Thomsen, K., Medical Research Archives 6, 1 January 2018.