The official handover to the new professor of the Department for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering took place in a moving ceremony on Friday. Herbert Pfeifer, the long-standing head of the department, symbolically handed over the key to the department building and with it the responsibility to his successor Christian Wuppermann. The event in the SuperC of RWTH Aachen University was a well-deserved farewell for Herbert Pfeifer and a warm welcome for Christian Wuppermann.
The ceremony started with an introductory speech by Professor Ulrich Krupp, the spokesperson for the Faculty’s Division of Materials Science and Engineering. This was followed by greetings from new and old colleagues as well as friends and companions of both professors. They not only paid tribute to the academic achievements of the two scientists, but also to their personal qualities and their contribution to the academic community.
The highlight of the event was undoubtedly Herbert Pfeifer’s moving farewell speech. It became clear once again what an outstanding influence he has had on the Institute over the past 26 years. At the beginning of his tenure, there were only eight employees, including two senior engineers, but not a single research assistant. Today, we can count on 47 colleagues, including 34 research assistants.
During his lecture, the experienced alpinist Herbert Pfeifer impressively conveyed the development of the Institute’s third-party funding over the last 26 years by using a mountaineering metaphor. The farewell lecture, appropriately accompanied by the loud rumble of thunder from a storm over Aachen, ended with a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience.
After his speech Herbert Pfeifer handed over the symbolic key to the department to his successor Christian Wuppermann, who in turn gave an outlook on the future of the department. Among other things, he emphasized the importance of digitalization to achieve the goals on the way to sustainable thermal process technology.
After the official handover of the keys, the evening event took place at Forum M in Aachen. At this event, Herbert Pfeifer received farewell gifts in recognition of his commitment and many years of leadership of the institute. The joint dinner was used especially by the former doctoral students of the department for networking and above all for exchanging anecdotes.
The official ceremony concluded with a speech from Christian Wuppermann, who expressed his gratitude for the trust and support placed in him. He emphasized the importance of continuity in research and promised to continue the legacy of his predecessor in a dignified manner. Prolonged applause accompanied his words and showed the recognition and support of the audience for the new head of the institute.
The ceremonial handover of the keys marked a significant moment in the department’s history and was a worthy expression of our shared history and vision for the future.
