To path indicator Subpages of “Newsdetail“ To navigation by target groups To navigation by topic To quick access To footer with other services
To content
Panoramic view on the North Campus © Jürgen Huhn​/​TU Dortmund
acatech membership

Elected to National Academy of Science and Engineering

-
in
  • Top News
  • People
Portrait photo of Prof. Wiederkehr: Prof. Wiederkehr wears a patterned scarf and a black blazer. She smiles at the camera. © Simon Bierwald​​/​​TU Dortmund
As a member of acatech, Prof. Petra Wiederkehr will contribute her expertise to policy and social consulting focused on the common good.
Virtual machining, robotics and electrical energy conversion are some of the research areas in which the 27 new members of the National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) are at home. Since the end of November, Petra Wiederkehr, Professor for Virtual Machining at the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University, is one of them. Acting in the public interest, the new members will share their excellent scientific knowledge of future technologies with policymakers and society.

The election of the new members is both a recognition of their scientific track record and an honorary mandate: The Academy, which is funded by Germany’s federal and state governments, advises policymakers and society on technology-related issues. The Academy has over 700 members – prominent scientists from engineering, the natural sciences and medicine, the humanities and social sciences. Within acatech, they play an active role at the interface between science, politics and industry, develop alternative courses of action and issue recommendations. They collaborate with experts from industry and society in projects, topic networks and interdisciplinary working groups. Project topics range from digital transformation and securing a skilled workforce to the hydrogen economy and nuclear fusion as well as, for example, the circular economy and future mobility.

Professor Petra Wiederkehr was appointed to the UA Ruhr Professorship for Virtual Machining at the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University in 2017. Her research focuses on the digitalization and optimization of manufacturing processes, and she is also a Principal Investigator at the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. She was previously Assistant Professor for Modeling Methods for Machining Processes at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She has received several awards for her research, including the Otto Kienzle Memorial Coin of the German Academic Association for Production Technology (WGP). She is also an associate member of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). In addition, Professor Petra Wiederkehr has been Vice President Diversity at TU Dortmund University since 2023. Among other activities, she actively campaigns for the further reduction of structural barriers for women in science.

About acatech

Contact for queries: