Thomas Hirth, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany, and Roland Ulber, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany, have been awarded the DECHEMA Medal. The award was presented at the DECHEMA FORUM 2024 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, on September 11, 2024.
Thomas Hirth was honored for his extraordinary and long-standing commitment as chairman of ProcessNet, the German platform for process engineering. In addition to shaping and leading the ProcessNet future process, which focused on socially relevant topics, he significantly promoted close collaboration with DECHEMA’s Biotechnology Division, other relevant committees, and networking with other sectors of the process industry.
Roland Ulber was recognized for his long-standing and ongoing dedication to DECHEMA’s biotechnology committees. During his six-year term as chairman of the steering committee of DECHEMA’s Biotechnology Division, he initiated numerous activities and developed proposals for strategic initiatives on cross-committee topics. Additionally, he strongly promoted collaboration with ProcessNet committees and fostered joint activities with other organizations, always prioritizing education and training in biotechnology.
The DECHEMA Medal was established in 1951 to mark the 25th anniversary of DECHEMA. It is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions in DECHEMA’s fields of expertise or through their voluntary commitment to the organization.
The image shows DECHEMA Managing Director Dr. Andreas Förster (center) presenting the DECHEMA Medal to Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth from KIT (left) and Prof. Dr. Roland Ulber from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau (right).
Roland Ulber, born 1968, studied chemistry at the University of Hannover, Germany, graduating in 1994. He gained his Ph.D. in 1996 from the Institute of Technical Chemistry at Hannover. He received his habilitation from the same university in 2002 and has been Professor for Bioengineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern since 2004. Since then, he has led the Department of Bioprocess Engineering at what was then TU Kaiserslautern and is now RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau.
Roland Ulber has been active in DECHEMA e.V. since 2002 and served as chair of the DECHEMA Biotechnology Division from 2014 to 2019. His main research interest is the use of renewable resources as feedstock for chemical and biotechnological processes. His research areas include enzyme screening and production, biocatalysis, fermentation optimization, downstream processing, chemo- and biosensors, and phototrophic cultivation of cyanobacteria.
Thomas Hirth, born in Michelbach/Rastatt in 1962, studied chemistry at Universität Karlsruhe, a predecessor of KIT, and graduated from its Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry. He joined the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 1992, eventually becoming Head of the Environmental Engineering Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal, Germany. In 2007, he became director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart, Germany. From 2012 to 2015, Hirth was spokesman of the Fraunhofer Group for Life Sciences and a member of the Presidential Council of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Since 2008, he in addition has been a professor at the University of Stuttgart, leading the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology IGVP. From 2012 to 2015, Hirth was vice dean of Faculty 4 Energy-, Process- and Bio-Engineering of Stuttgart University. Since 2016, Thomas Hirth has been Vice President of KIT with his second term ending on December 31, 2027.
- Dechema e.V., Frankfurt, Germany
