Theoretical Physics
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TUM Emeriti of Excellence Table of contents Foreword from the President . 4 Foreword from the TUM Emeriti of Excellence Spokesperson . 7 The TUM Emeriti of Excellence Project . 8 TUM Emeriti of Excellence Project Development . 12 TUM Emeriti of Excellence 2007-2015 . 14 List of abbreviations . 133 Details of honors and prizes . 134 Credits . 146 TUM campus, city center 3 Foreword from the President “Verachtet mir die Meister nicht!” – Act. Professors teach as long as their students are satisfied with them; in the standard phrase, they are there Do not spurn the masters! “at the pleasure of the students”. Which is as it should be because, with their extensive educational experience, teachers can recognize what is essential, go on journeys of the mind, arrive at conclusions and avoid getting lost ne of Richard Wagner’s Mastersingers of in detail. These individual professors are models in the best manner of speaking – a realization that should Nuremberg, Hans Sachs, a “master shoemaker ultimately come to university education policy in the federal states of Germany as well. Oand poet as well”, uses this warning to point to the professional and social function of the role models In TUM Emeriti of Excellence, several criteria come together. We have leading lights of international science; that his fellow guild members represent. And what goes long-standing, superb achievement in academic education; a particular commitment beyond the boundary of for our honored arts and crafts is in no way an alien con- individual departments to the university as a whole; and readiness for active cooperation with TUM’s cept to academia. In various ways, professors need to development – in particular, the practical realization and advancement of the Excellence Initiative. function as role models for the next academic generation. They should excel professionally and be This commitment encompasses, for example, acting as the President's representative for partner schools and academically original, engage with an international net- the “Paths of Experience in Research” mentoring program; the realization of the bionic initiative and the TUM work, act as a sympathetic superior to their colleagues, Institute for Advanced Study; ongoing, concurrent activity as political consultants in Berlin and Brussels and the and be personalities to whom their students can look up construction of the International Center of the Bavarian Building Industry for TUM. On the international stage, and aspire. All in all, this is a great deal to ask. But they our TUM Emeriti of Excellence present themselves as skilled experts and are able to make vital contacts. With nevertheless exist: these great, timeless figures of aca- their respective individual strengths, they contribute to university development – whether in teaching and demia who work within and with their era – no matter research or in network-building, internationalization and structural improvement or in the many different projects how much they are subject to constantly changing within the Excellence Initiative in 2006 and 2012. The TUM Emeriti of Excellence spokesperson is a standing demands. Technische Universität München (TUM) is member of the TUM Extended Board of Management, and this is also a mark of respect from the entire bold enough to choose from its extensive circle of university. Our Emeriti are also trusted participants as rapporteurs in numerous appeal procedures at TUM. dedicated emeriti those who, even after the end of a TUM Emeriti of Excellence have thus become active ambassadors for our university at home and abroad. successful academic career, continue to serve their alma mater and wish to place their respective strengths at its In the name of my alma mater, I’d like to thank these emeriti for championing our future over and above the call disposal. Teaching, research, networking, project initia- of duty, for setting their own interests aside and, at the same time, bringing in their personal experience and a tives and mentoring are all typical examples of the active certain critical distance to the mix. They deserve our full respect. We at TUM do not spurn our masters. commitment of our TUM Emeriti of Excellence. Munich · Garching · Weihenstephan, January 2016 They have become potent ambassadors for the university of today. They represent a combination of excellence, lifetime experience and character. The idea of integrating the TUM Emeriti of Excellence into the daily operation of our university increasingly impressed itself upon me over the years in which I often had to present a “retirement diploma” to hard-working, laudable faculty members. More and more, their retirement seemed to me to be a great waste of talent and a loss to our family atmosphere: Wolfgang A. Herrmann excellent professors stepping down from academia – to which they had donated a considerable part of their life President with enthusiasm and dedication – according to a fixed date determined by their age. A professor’s job is not a cash cow but a vocation. Ongoing engagement with talented, curious young people who find joy in discovery is rejuvenating, and this is evident in our professors. In the US, they have the Age Discrimination in Employment 4 5 Foreword from the TUM Emeriti of Excellence Spokesperson ince 2007, the Technical University of Munich has awarded selected retired scientists the honorary title of “TUM Emeriti of Excellence” (EoE), Sand has actively involved them in university life. The knowledge and networks of experienced professors should remain accessible, and can be used to support the interests and aims of the university. At the project's inception, 26 scientists were included in the interdisciplinary group, which now numbers 56 professors; all faculties are represented apart from the still relatively newly founded TUM School of Education and the Department of Sport and Health Sciences, which is currently in the development phase. The TUM Emeriti of Excellence receive the necessary support for their honorary work from the univer- sity (e.g., the reimbursement of travel expenses). Requests for EoEs to carry out assignments are made both by the university administration, as well as from central service centers (such as the TUM International Center) and from centers dealing with the promotion of young talent (such as the TUM Young Academy and TUM Talent Factory). These colleagues have played a significant role in the development of the TUM Codes of Conduct. In addition to their knowledge and experience, the professors are above all distinguished by their independence – their personal interests, or those of faculty play a minor role in their activities. Their judgment can, amongst other things, be usefully deployed for all processes in which candidates have to be evalu- ated in competitive procedures. Thus, each semester, in the context of support programs for guest researchers and postdocs, 13 Emeriti sift and assess more than 350 applications from all over the world, and choose the best candidates for the TUM. Further important activities are presented on pages 12-13 of this brochure. Professors and university administrators regularly meet at the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS) to discuss specific topics related to the development of the university. The scientists elect one of their number to be a spokesper- son, and one to be an acting representative who functions as a contact person for the university administration. The renowned professor of engineering science, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Fäber, held the office of spokesperson up until June 2015, as well as holding the highly responsible position of TUM ombudsman since 2011. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Karl- Heinz Hoffmann, president of the Bavarian Academy for Sciences is his successor. Since June 2015, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Eberspächer, whose name is well known in relation to international research in the field of telecommunication networks, TUM Institute of Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), Campus Garching has been acting spokesperson since June 2015. Since 2007, the TUM Emeriti of Excellence project office has been represented by Erika Schropp, with the able assistance of Dr. Birgit Herbst-Gaebel since 2015. Munich, January 2016 Prof. Dr. Michael Molls Spokesperson for TUM Emeriti of Excellence 6 7 The TUM Emeriti of Excellence Project The TUM Emeriti of Excellence are volunteers, and are Supporting young talent e.g., especially active in the areas of organization, coordina- • TUM Youth Conference tion, and the representation of science. • TUM: Young Academy • Research Opportunities Week (ROW) Currently, the main points of focus of the 56 TUM Emeriti • TUM University Foundation Fellowship (TUFF) of Excellence are: • TUM IdeAward • Membership of scientific committees and advisory Special functions e.g., boards, apart from appointment committees (10) • TUM Ombudsman • Rapporteurs in appointment committees (25) • CEO TUM CREATE • Internationalization and maintenance of networks (38) • Supporting young researchers (21) Several TUM Emeriti of Excellence are engaged in securing financial support to the new University Founda- The TUM Emeriti of Excellence have already been tion (created 2010). integrated into the following fields (cf. diagram on pages 12-13): Scientific advisory boards and committees e.g., • TUM-IAS Board of Trustees • TUM-IAS Advisory Council • TUM Appointment and Tenure Board • TUM: Young Academy Advisory Board • TUM Leonardo da Vinci Centre for Bionics • Scientific Advisory Board Munich Aerospace EoE Members Meeting in IAS, 06.16.2015 Internationalization