Dr. Kai Hencken

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Kai Hencken, born in Hamburg in 1965, received his diploma in physics from the University of Basel in 1990 and completed his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the same institution in 1994. His doctoral thesis focused on "Electromagnetic Production of Electron-Positron Pairs in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions." He then worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington, Seattle, from 1995 to 1997. After returning to the University of Basel, he received the Venia Docendi in 2000 and has since focused on electromagnetic diffractive processes in high-energy nuclear collisions. In 2005, he joined the Corporate Research Center of ABB in Baden-Dättwil, where he currently holds the position of senior principal scientist in the theoretical physics group, specializing in physical statistical modeling. Hencken has made significant contributions to the field, notably in areas involving ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC, as well as Coulomb excitation nuclear reactions. He has published over 70 journal articles and has contributed to numerous review articles and proposals for experiments at CERN and GSI, holding more than 15 patents.

Research Interests

Experience

Lecturer

2000-01-01 — Present

University of Basel • Basel, Switzerland

Lecturer in the Department of Physics, focusing on theoretical physics.

Senior Principal Scientist

2005-01-01 — Present

ABB Corporate Research Center • Baden-Dättwil, Switzerland

Senior principal scientist in the theoretical physics group specializing in physical statistical modeling.

Requirements for University of Basel

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Listening
Required:22
Reading
Required:22
Writing
Required:22
Speaking
Required:22
Total
Required:95
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field with at least 180 ECTS Specific ECTS requirements in core subjects (e.g., 90 ECTS in Math/CS for Data Science)
Application Checklist
  • Bachelor's degree certificate or current transcript of records
  • Diploma Supplement (if available)
  • CV/Resume
  • Copy of valid passport or ID card
  • Evidence of language proficiency (C1 level recommended for English/German programs)
  • Proof of payment of application fee (CHF 100)
Specialization Notes

The University of Basel generally requires C1 level proficiency in the language of instruction. For most English-taught Masters, TOEFL (min 92-95) or IELTS (min 7.0) is the standard.