Professor Dieter Franke goes into retirement

For 13 years, Dieter Franke was a professor of engineering at Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, specialising in energy efficiency/renewable energies - the topic of photovoltaics has accompanied him for the majority of his professional life. Franke, who studied mechanical engineering, already focussed on the production of photovoltaic cells in his diploma thesis at RWTH Aachen University. For many years, his professional focus was on research and he was involved in several patent applications. After working as a professor for sustainable energy utilisation and regenerative plant engineering at Ansbach University of Applied Sciences, he moved to Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences in 2012.

There he was to become a key player in the field of sustainability in teaching and research. At the TREE research institute, his name was closely associated with the topic of climate-neutral energy supply. In the Department of Engineering and Communication, he helped launch, develop and shape the Sustainable Engineering degree programme; it was launched in the 2017/18 winter semester and combined electrical and mechanical engineering with aspects of sustainability.

Dieter Franke implemented sustainability topics that were tangible for both students and the university. In 2020/21, for example, the potential study on the CO2-neutral energy supply of the H-BRS at the Sankt Augustin site was developed in his courses. In the project, the students analysed the energy status quo of the university and investigated, for example, the extent to which the use of renewable energies can be increased, primarily in the form of photovoltaic systems on the roofs and in the car parks. The project thus provided a basis for further campus development.