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Prof. Gerhard Ziegmann bids farewell
More than 100 guests bid farewell to the plastics and fiber composites expert after almost 25 years at Clausthal University of Technology at a scientific colloquium.
Prof. Ziegmann studied mechanical engineering, specializing in plastics technology, at RWTH Aachen University. Here he also completed his doctorate at the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in 1979 on the subject of temperature-resistant plastics. After working in industry at Dornier and AKZO, Prof. Ziegmann became head of the construction laboratory specializing in fibre composite technology at ETH Zurich in 1990. In November 1998, he came to Clausthal University of Technology and established the newly founded Institute for Polymer Materials and Plastics Technology, which he headed as Institute Director until 2012. Subsequently, he held the Lower Saxony Professorship for Fiber Composite Plastics, among other positions, and has been a senior professor for fiber composites to this day. He is also a founding and long-standing board member of the Clausthal Center for Materials Technology (CZM).
During his long scientific career, Prof. Ziegmann has contributed to more than 285 publications, has been intensively involved in third-party funded research with more than 50 projects and has supervised more than 90 doctorates.
Many of these doctoral students came to Clausthal for the farewell colloquium. Former graduates Dr. Michael Bosse (SKZ-Das Kunststoffzentrum), Prof. Stefan Kirchberg (Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach) and Dr. Matthias Dickert (Adler Pelzer Group) reported on current research and work topics. For example, from the properties and production of composite materials to acoustic and vibration management in vehicles. Prof. Ulf Breuer (Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials Kaiserslautern) and Prof. Terry McCrail (University of Edinburgh) gave guest lectures as internationally recognized scientists. Among other things, a newly developed process for upcycling used PET bottles for the energy-efficient production of high-strength composite materials was presented.
The colloquium was opened by Prof. Wolfgang Maus-Friedrichs and Prof. Volker Wesling in their capacity as members of the CZM board. They thanked Mr. Ziegmann in particular for the many years of trustful cooperation in the establishment of the CZM, without which the center would not exist in its current form. Mr. Ziegmann's willingness to drive things forward together and in particular his enthusiasm for research were repeatedly mentioned in other words of welcome. Prof. Christian Bohn regretted that he had never been able to work directly with Mr. Ziegmann for professional reasons, but thanked him on behalf of the Presidential Board for his many years of commitment to Clausthal University of Technology. Prof. Altstädt from the Scientific Working Group on Plastics Technology (WAK) of the professors of plastics technology in Germany and Austria offered warm greetings.
Finally, Dr. Henning Wiche presented the Ziegmanns with some personal farewell gifts from staff and alumni. These included a walking stick (made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, of course) to ensure a good start to their (un)retirement. Prof. Ziegmann expressed his heartfelt thanks to all those present, but especially to his wife Elisabeth.
