Prof Erwin Roeder, born in 1927, studied general electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen University from 1947 to 1951 and then turned his attention to materials science during his doctoral thesis. This was followed in 1958 by a stay in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, where he worked as a research assistant in the renowned ‘Natuurkundig Laboratorium der N.V. Philips’ Gloelampenfabrieken’, researching the fundamentals of materials used in electrical engineering, such as tungsten for light bulbs and iron-silicon alloys for transformers.

In 1960, Roeder moved to the Philips research laboratory in Aachen, where he was appointed Professor of Materials Science and Mechanical Technology at the then still young University of Kaiserslautern on 1 April 1975. There he continued his research into the extrusion of molten glass, a new moulding process for the glass industry at the time. This ultimately led to the delivery of three large extrusion presses to well-known industrial companies in Japan and France between 1985 and 1999.
In addition, Professor Roeder devoted his research to a variety of other topics, including the processing of high-melting-point materials for light production, the vibration resistance behaviour of high-alloy steels under simultaneous thermal and corrosive stress and the welding of glasses, glass ceramics and ceramics with metals using ultrasound. For the latter, he received the Rhineland-Palatinate Innovation Award in 1992.

During his time as a university lecturer, Professor Roeder has given more than 1,400 lectures to students of mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and electrical engineering. He is also the author and co-author of more than 90 scientific publications. In addition, his chair has produced around 500 student research projects and dissertations as well as 20 doctoral theses. Furthermore, his scientific work was crowned by three patent grants. From 1983 to 1987, he was Vice Dean and Dean of the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering. In 1994, he handed over the chair to his successor, Professor Dietmar Eifler.

Even in his retirement, since 1994, the Emeritus Professor still feels a strong connection to the TU Kaiserslautern. A few years ago, he established the Professor Erwin Roeder Foundation. It is part of the Foundation for the TU Kaiserslautern. He is also involved in the Foundation for the TU Kaiserslautern and is currently supporting young academics with the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. ‘Being able to help is something gratifying, especially in old age,’ he says, explaining his commitment.