Prof. B.ee

Everyone knows that engineers are as busy as bees. The best conditions, therefore, for a somewhat unusual cooperation at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. For several years, Professor Böhm has been active as a beekeeper and now looks after eight bee colonies, whose hives were placed on the roof of the engineering building on Kurt-Wolters-Straße. Professor Böhm (aka Prof. B.ee) and his staff tend to the bees and produce regional honey. On the green campus, the bees find plenty of nectar that is not contaminated by pesticides.

'Honey harvest days' are busy days in the Technik III building (commonly known as the "Glaskasten"). First, Martin Trost and Professor Böhm remove the honeycombs and convince the somewhat puzzled bees to share their provisions - using a hand brush.

To pause the slide show, click on the pause button(II) displayed in the lower half of the images.

Then the combs are brought down a few floors, opened and fixed in a centrifuge, which spins the honey out of the combs in order to collect it.

The only process left is labelling it and then the "honey from academic cultivation" is ready. For Professor Böhm and his staff, beekeeping has become more than just a hobby: "This is our contribution to more sustainability!"

German text Daniel Koch