Materials engineering through the ages - colloquium in honor of Professor Scholtes

With a festive colloquium in his honor, the department, since 2016 under the leadership of his successor Professor Niendorf, has created a worthy setting for this event. More than 80 guests gathered in the Gießhaus of the University of Kassel to highlight and discuss past and current developments in the research field of materials engineering. Professor P. Portella (Federal Institute for Materials Testing, BAM, Berlin) was able to perfectly introduce the series of lectures with his lecture "Materials technology through the ages". The development of materials technology research "Yesterday, today and tomorrow" at the University of Kassel then came into focus.

The subsequent discussions among those present, from Kassel scientists and former doctoral students to representatives from industry and academia, showed how great the appreciation is for the achievements of materials engineering in Kassel to date, but at the same time how exciting the current and future developments are. Professor Niendorf commented: "With the two new research fields of shape memory technology and additive manufacturing, i.e. 3D printing, we are on the way to new challenges. In this context, it is becoming apparent that open questions are related to residual stresses and fatigue strength in particular. Here we can build on the excellent work of my predecessor. There are therefore unique opportunities here at the site: what belongs together is growing together."

With this in mind, all present agreed: "We wish Prof. Scholtes all the best for his retirement and plenty of time and leisure for all the planned activities. At the same time, however, we hope that he will remain visible and with us in scientific circles for a long time to come!"