Dr.-Ing. Thomas Ritter received the Kulturpreis Bayern of Bayernwerk AG for his dissertation at the Chair of Functional Materials.
Dr.-Ing. Thomas Ritter with the bronze statue he received with the Kulturpreis Bayern, the 'Gedankenblitz'. "The work goes far beyond the scope and quality of a normal engineering thesis", says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Moos, chair holder for functional materials.
(Photo: private)
Dr.-Ing. Thomas Ritter received the Kulturpreis Bayern of Bayernwerk AG for his dissertation at the engineering chair for functional materials at the University of Bayreuth. He was suggested by his doctoral supervisor, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Moos, who describes the prizewinner not only as a "highly qualified and very interdisciplinary thinking engineer", but also as an outstanding team player. Therefore, according to chair holder Prof. Moos, the prize is an award for the entire sensor technology work team. The prize was awarded in digital form in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and was thus accessible to a broad public for the first time. Interested parties can 'look up' the award ceremony here:
When exhaust gases from combustion engines are cleaned, accurate and reliable gas sensors are needed. The Bayreuth engineer Dr.-Ing. Thomas Ritter has been working on the development of a novel sensor principle for this purpose during his doctorate. The research work for Ritter's dissertation was carried out as part of a DFG project from 2015 to 2019 at the Chair of Functional Materials at the University of Bayreuth. "The fact that my dissertation has been awarded such a prestigious prize is a great acknowledgement of the research achievements. Apart from the fact that the work at the Bayreuth Chair of Functional Materials was fun and very exciting anyway, I think that the award also honors the work of those who contributed to the project: Researchers from the University of Bayreuth and other institutes", explains Thomas Ritter.
The work goes far beyond the scope and quality of usual engineering work. That it is of such exceptional quality is due to the fact that Thomas Ritter did not take simplifying formulas for granted, as perhaps many other researchers would have done, but has worked deeply into electrochemical processes and simulation and has penetrated both to a great extent. It is also typical for his doctoral student that the dissertation was never 'finished' at any time. It was also remarkable that the young researcher had already gained great respect in the professional world as a doctoral student.
Thomas Ritter (30), who was born in Dessau, now works as a development and project engineer at H + H Engineering und Service GmbH in Sonnefeld, which plans, commissions and maintains exhaust aftertreatment systems for stationary and marine applications. "My time at the University of Bayreuth has therefore already prepared me thematically for my job. In addition, I can contribute to the new team in a disciplined and focused manner, with qualities that I acquired during my dissertation, among others".
For more than 60 years, Bayernwerk has been committed to cultural and scientific commitment and honors it with the Kulturpreis Bayern. Since 2005, Bayernwerk has been awarding this prize throughout Bavaria together with the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Science and the Arts. All prize winners receive the bronze statue 'Gedankenblitz' and prize money. While an expert jury selects the five art prize winners, the Bavarian state colleges and universities nominate their best graduates and doctoral candidates. In addition to the Bayreuth engineer Dr.-Ing. Thomas Ritter, 32 other graduates of Bavarian colleges and universities have received the Bavarian Culture Prize in the science category. www.bayernwerk.de
