Chemnitz University of Technology

Chemnitz University of Technology (German: Technische Universität Chemnitz) is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With around 8,300 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as Königliche Gewerbschule (Royal Mercantile College) and was elevated to a Technische Hochschule, a university of technology, in 1963. With approximately 2,400 employees in science, engineering and management, Chemnitz University of Technology is among the most important employers in the region.

History

Foundation

The tradition of science in this region goes back to the 16th century when Georg Agricola (1494–1555), a famous German scholar of minerals, served as the city's mayor. Historically, the university emerged from the Gewerbschule (trade school) founded in 1836. One year later, a Baugewerkenschule (school for the building trades) became affiliated with the Königliche Gewerbschule (Royal Trade School), which was followed by a Königliche Werkmeisterschule (Royal School for Master Craftsmen) in 1855. An existing Fabrikzeichenschule (Factory Mark School) in Chemnitz was affiliated to the Gewerbeschule at the time of its founding, but it was separated from the Gewerbschule for budgetary reasons in 1858. These four schools existed side by side and were unified by their director. In 1878, these schools were formally united in a school association – the Kasse der Technischen Staatslehranstalten (Office of the Technical Educational Institutions). The Gewerbeschule in particular, which was renamed the Gewerbeakademie in 1900 and the Staatliche Akademie für Technik (Public Academy of Technology) in 1929, achieved high recognition in Germany and a special position among the technical colleges and technical schools.

During the German Democratic Republic Era

After World War II, the association was reopened as a purely technical school under the name Technische Lehranstalten (Technical Academy) in 1947. In 1953, the Hochschule für Maschinenbau Karl-Marx-Stadt (Karl-Marx-Stadt College of Mechanical Engineering) was reestablished at the same location and in the same building. Over the course of the adjustment of the technical school landscape in the GDR, the old technical school was dissolved in 1955. The College of Mechanical Engineering was elevated to the status of a technical college in 1963 and to that of a technical university in 1986.

For basic Marxist–Leninist studies, which had been obligatory since 1951 for students of all disciplines in the GDR, there was also an Institute for Marxism–Leninism at the school. It later also had to take over the scientific staff, lecturers and professors' ongoing ideological training.

After Germany's Reunification

At the end of the German Democratic Republic, the academic system of Eastern Germany was absorbed by the West German system. Chemnitz University of Technology was actively supported to remain as a third university in Saxony besides University of Leipzig and TU Dresden. In 1992, the former Pädagogische Hochschule Zwickau was incorporated and the university was renamed Technische Universität Chemnitz-Zwickau. With the establishment of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (1993) and the Faculty of Humanities (1994), the university's profile shifted from technical to a more comprehensive university. In 1997, another renaming took place and the institution received its current name, Chemnitz University of Technology. In September of the same year, the Saxon state government made the decision to end elementary school teacher training in Chemnitz. As of the winter semester 1999/2000, no more students were enrolled in the teacher training programs. The state government made the decision to center teacher training in Leipzig and Dresden. These decisions were accompanied by massive protests from the ranks of the students but also from the Faculty of Humanities.

Organization and Administration

Faculties

The university is organised into the following eight faculties:

• Faculty of Computer Science
• Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
• Faculty of Mathematics
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Faculty of Natural Sciences
• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences

Central Institutions

• Cluster of Excellence MERGE
• Saxony's Centre for Teaching and Learning
• University Library
• Foreign Language Centre
• Internationales Universitätszentrum
• Centre for Young Scientists
• Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer
• Research Centre MAIN
• International Office
• University Computer Centre
• Centre for Teacher Training
• Centre for Sports and Health Promotion

An-Institutes

Cetex Institute for Textile and Processing Machines gemeinnützige GmbH

Institute of Mechatronics e.V.

Saxony Textile Research Institute e.V.

TUCed – An-Institut für Transfer und Weiterbildung GmbH

Center for Criminological Research Saxony

Campus

Chemnitz University of Technology's growth led it to have buildings in various parts of Chemnitz. The campus on Reichenhainer Staße is the main campus. There are currently four parts of the university:

Campus at Straße der Nationen 62

The campus at Straße der Nationen 62 is in the center of Chemnitz across from the bus station. This includes the buildings at Straße der Nationen 62 (the Böttcher Building), Bahnhofstraße 8 (Patent Information Center), Carolastraße 8 (Department of Human Resources, Department of Budget and Economics), and the Alte Aktienspinnerei (University Library and University Archives).

Eduard-Theodor-Böttcher-Bau

The Böttcher-Bau or Böttcher Building is the main and oldest building at Chemnitz University of Technology. The natural stone facade of the building consists of granite, porphyry, and sandstone elements. The most prominent part of the historical building is the four-meter long and 21-meter high facade. Behind the main entrance doors there is a vestibule with a historical cross vault. After the staircase, the student secretariat is located to the right.

This building is home to the university administration (President and Vice-Presidents' offices, office of the chancellor, some departments), the University Computer Centre as well as the Faculty of Computer Science and the Institute of Chemistry. Furthermore, the Böttcher-Bau is home to a cafeteria and a canteen which are operated by the Studentenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau. Also located in this building is part of the TUClab, Chemnitz University of Technology's start-up support network.

The Böttcher Building, whose cornerstone was laid on 2 September 1875, was named after Professor Eduard Theodor Böttcher (1829–1893). Böttcher was a professor of mechanics and for many years the director of the Royal Higher Industrial School in Chemnitz. The laboratory building facing the railroad station was handed over as early as 1876. The busts of Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Alexander von Humboldt in the staircase there also date from this time. On 16 October 1877, this building was consecrated as the State Technical School. Under this collective name, it united the Higher School of Trades, the School of Construction Trades, the School of Master Craftsmen and the School of Trades Marks. The building, which was equipped according to the most modern standards and in which 612 students were taught at the time, had 105 rooms with a total area of 6,613 square meters. Since the 150th anniversary of engineering education in 1986, the main building at the university has borne the name "Eduard-Theodor-Böttcher-Bau". In 1986, a sculpture of Böttcher by the Karl-Marx-Stadt artist Frank Diettrich was also unveiled in front of the Senate Hall on the second floor in the central part of the building.

Academic profile

In winter term 2013/2014 about 2,500 young people started their bachelor's or master's degree studies at TU Chemnitz. All in all, the university offers 35 bachelor's and 50 master's degree programs. On the international level TU Chemnitz cooperates with 126 partner institutions in 39 countries. This includes 19 members of the international university network Academic Consortium for the 21st Century (AC21). TU Chemnitz is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the project 'Teaching Quality Pact' as well as by Saxony's Centre for Teaching and Learning funded by the Saxon State Ministry of Science and the Arts.

Research

The university has concentrated its research to six main profiles:

• New materials
• Production Life Cycle
• Microelectronics & Micro-electromechanical systems
• Applications & development of systems
• Communications, Media, Technology
• Modeling, Simulation, High Performance Computing

A key research area 'Energy-efficient Production Processes' stands the Federal Cluster of Excellence 'Merge Technologies for Multifunctional Lightweight Structures' (MERGE). Funded with €34 million, this cluster is the only one in Germany focusing on the field of lightweight engineering. The breeding ground for this cluster was prepared by the Saxon State Cluster of Excellence 'Energy-efficient Product and Process Innovations in Production Engineering' (eniPROD), which was jointly established with the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology. These initiatives are complemented by additional collaborative research areas funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) which develop intelligent materials and energy-efficient production technologies.

Within the key research area 'Smart Systems and Materials', scientists at TU Chemnitz are also involved in the Federal Cluster of Excellence 'Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden' (cfAED). Further input is provided by the Nano System Integration Network of Excellence (Nanett), funded by the Federal Government, as well as by the cluster COOL SILICON 'Energy Efficiency Innovations from Silicon Saxony'. Several DFG Research Groups are working in this field. In addition, TU Chemnitz will be the home of the 'Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes' (MAIN).

International students

Chemnitz University of Technology has a large body of foreign students. In winter semester 2017, out of its 10,482 students, 2,712 were foreign students, which equals to about 25%.

Rankings

Worldwide, TU Chemnitz is ranked 1176 by CWUR in 2022.

Notable people

Professors

• Werner Dilger (died 2007), German computer scientist
• Josef Lutz, German physicist and electrical engineer
• Gopakumar Thiruvancheril, Indian assistant professor of molecular electronics
• Heiner Rindermann, German intelligence and educational researcher
• Peter Benner, German mathematician
• Nam-Trung Nguyen, Vietnamese-Australian researcher in microfluidics, professor and recipient of Australian Laureate Fellowship

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)