On 31 March 2023, the Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge at Stuttgart University (IFSW) said goodbye to one of its heads into a well-deserved retirement with a celebratory colloquium on the topic of “Scaling of laser processes in manufacturing”. Apl Prof Dr Rudolf Weber has been a lecturer and the head of process development at the IFSW since 2008.

In addition to a historical review of the past fifteen years by Prof Thomas Graf, Ruedi Weber, and active and former staff, there were four scientific presentations. Prof Andreas Michalowski (deputy director at the IFSW), Prof Beat Neuenschwander (Institute ALPS, Bern University of Applied Sciences), Dr Simon Olschok (Welding and Joining Institute, RWTH Aachen University), as well as Prof Dr Arnold Gillner (chair of laser technology, RWTH Aachen University) not only had exciting and humorous technical presentations in store, but also personal and touching words for Ruedi Weber. At the subsequent reception in the halls of the IFSW, the guests from research, industry and science were able to enjoy a wonderful evening and discuss the whole range of topics from the past fifteen years.

On 1st of April 2023, Dr-Ing Christian Hagenlocher took over the leadership of the business unit “process fundamentals”. This literally marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. “Rudolf Weber has successfully led the business unit ‘process Development’ (since April ‘Process Fundamentals’) over the past fifteen years and decisively shaped it with his competence and expertise,” said IFSW director Thomas Graf.

Christian Hagenlocher is an expert in the field of laser beam welding. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Stuttgart and earned his doctorate in 2020 at the IFSW on the topic of “The grain structure and hot cracking resistance of laser beam welds in aluminum alloys”, for which he was awarded the WLT Prize. Funded by an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, he spent the following period as a postdoc at RMIT in Melbourne working primarily on additive manufacturing processes.

Further reading: Professorship for “Laser Technology in Manufacturing” established, wileyindustrynews.com, 15 August 2022