Department of Physics Celebrates 50th Anniversary

In 1970, two years after the University of Dortmund was opened, Prof. Dietmar Fröhlich, Prof. Ulrich Bonse and Prof. Albert Schmid founded what is now the Department of Physics. In 1971, the department began acting independently, after initially being combined with the Departments of Chemistry and Mathematics. Joachim Treusch, at that time one of the first professors and now a member of the University Council, reminisced about these early days: “The university was new – there were no rigid curricula. We were able to implement ideas that we wouldn't have dared to do ten years later.”

One of these innovative ideas was linking theoretical and experimental physics in the curriculum. In these “integrated courses”, theoretical and experimental physicists teach together – a special quality that still exists today.

Internationalization and growth in research and teaching

Ever since it was founded, the Department of Physics has aspired to a high level of internationalization in research and teaching. Over time, numerous collaborative relationships were established worldwide, for example with CERN in Geneva, the MAGIC telescopes on La Palma, or IceCube at the South Pole. One of the department's current goals is to offer its master's degree programs in English, as Dean Prof. Kevin Kröninger stated at the ceremony. Recent developments at the department also include the newly established Graduate School of Physics, which aims to continue improving the training structure for doctoral students, and the establishment of a Humboldt Professorship for the Israeli scientist Prof. Edvardas Narevicius.

In addition, the department has continuously expanded the range of subjects and programs on offer. In 2011, for example, it introduced the Medical Physics program, followed ten years later by the International Master of Advanced Methods in Particle Physics. President Prof. Manfred Bayer, himself an experimental physicist, emphasized at the anniversary celebration: “As President, but also as a physicist, I am delighted that the Department of Physics has managed to implement new, courageous projects through collaboration from the very beginning. Numerous high-ranking publications, large-scale collaborative projects and some 11 million euros in annual third-party funding are a testament to the department’s success.”

Honorary doctorate for outstanding achievements in science

At the ceremony, the department awarded an honorary doctorate to Prof. Helmut Dosch, who has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg since 2009. The X-ray physicist received this honor for his extraordinary achievements in science and science management. In particular, he has made outstanding contributions to the continued development of innovative analysis methods using synchrotron radiation. He is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and has been Vice President of the Helmholtz Association since 2013.

Prof. Dosch expressed his gratitude both for the honor and for the collaboration between researchers from TU Dortmund University and DESY in Hamburg. For instance, he worked alongside Prof. Metin Tolan, who conducted research as a professor for experimental physics at TU Dortmund University from 2001 to 2021, and has been President of the University of Göttingen since then. As a sign of scientific friendship, Prof. Tolan gave the laudatory speech for the new honorary doctor.

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