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04/03/2025 | Aktuelles

Oliver Sträter becomes honorary member of the Society for Ergonomics (GfA)

@Work and Organizational Psychology
Picture (from left): Jürgen Klippert (IG Metall); Johannes Brombach (President of the GfA); Rolf Ellegast (Head of the IfA of the DGUV); Oliver Sträter

Prof. Dr. Oliver Sträter received a special honor during GfA 2025 in Aachen. He was made an honorary member of the Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft (GfA).

With this honor, he follows in the footsteps of those scientists who have had a significant influence on his academic journey: his doctoral supervisor Heiner Bubb, Ekkehardt Frieling, whose successful field he continues at the University of Kassel, as well as his doctoral supervisor Heinz Schmidtke, a founder of ergonomics in Germany, with whom he was even allowed to work together. In addition, there are many other inspiring ergonomists who have shaped his thinking and life. All these experiences are daily companions in his work with the great A&O team.

A special highlight is the fact that this award was presented in the Coronation Hall in Aachen, because his path to ergonomics led him through his studies in work and organizational psychology at RWTH Aachen University. The Coronation Hall is symbolic of life, peace and freedom in Europe - values for which Professor Sträter worked for eight years in Brussels at EUROCONTROL to unify European airspace. The laudatory speech by our A&O Private lecturer Jürgen Klippert, the pioneer of motion capturing in Germany, brought all these facets together wonderfully.

A big thank you goes to Verena Nitsch and her team for organizing a great congress in Aachen!

The GfA presented itself young, dynamic and with a variety of topics on work design, which is so essential in today's world with its facets of digitalization, the effects of global changes on our work and future challenges of transformation. GfAnext has become an important driving force for the GfA.

The shared vision of an innovative and stimulating GfA, which Professor Stäter championed as President together with his predecessor Klaus Bengler and his successor Martin Schmauder as well as the GfA board members and the organizational talent Simone John, has been a success.

In Aachen, Johannes Brombach has now taken the reins as the new President, supported by Verena Nitsch as Vice President and Sascha Wischniewski as Vice President as well as the new Executive Board.

We will be hosting the upcoming GfA Spring Congress in Kassel from March 11 - 13, 2026 . The entire A&O department is already looking forward to it!