Raymond Freymann

Raymond Freymann is an engineering professor and researcher, born on May 30, 1952 in Esch-sur-Alzette (Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg), and has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific publications. He currently serves as CEO of BMW Group Research and Technology in Munich, Germany.

Biography

Raymond Freymann graduated in 1970 from the Lycée de Garcons in Esch-sur Alzette, Luxembourg. He performed his study in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany. He got his engineering degree in 1976 with a major in aerospace technologies. He got his doctor of engineering degree from the Technical University of Braunschweig in 1981 for the work he has performed at the Institute of Aero-elasticity at the DLR in Göttingen (Germany). Subsequently he has been working as a scientist at the Flight Dynamics Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton (Ohio). His career at BMW Group started in 1986 as head of the structural dynamics and acoustics division at the BMW Development and Innovation Center in Munich (Germany). Later he was appointed as director of the Vehicle Physics department and was nominated director of Vehicle Research in 2000. Since 2003 he is acting as CEO of BMW Group Research and Technology (BMW Group Forschung und Technik).

Raymond Freymann got his habilitation from the Technical University of Munich in 2000 and was nominated as honorary professor at the TU Munich in 2002.

Raymond Freymann served in a variety of scientific and advisory committees, such as the NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD) from 1981–1996, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) from 1987–1991, the Society of American Engineers (SAE) from 1998–2001, the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers (ImechE) from 1997–2002 and the Comité Supérieur de la Recherche et de l´Innovation (CSRI) in Luxembourg since 2008.

Technical achievements

Major technical accomplishments were the development of an actively damped aircraft landing gear system in 1985, a novel approach for derivation of the generalized equations of motion of coupled structural-acoustic systems in 1992 forming the basis of the commercial software code CDH-VAO, the pioneering and development of the Holographic Modal Analysis testing tool in 1994, the development of a waste heat recovery systems for internal combustion engines (BMW Turbosteamer) in 2000, the development of the hydrogen speed record vehicle BMW H2R in 2004, the visionary approach for the future deployment of a hydrogen based energy supply economy making use of liquid organic hydrides (LOHC) as a fuel (in 2005).

Publications

Dr. Freymann has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific publications in the technical fields of aero-elasticity, active control systems, structural dynamics, servo-hydraulics, testing and instrumentation, acoustics, hydrogen technology, energy management, human-machine-interface, driver assistance and active safety.

A Method for Determining the Aeroelastic Behavior of Aircraft with Active Control Systems. European Space Agency Technical Translation, ESA-TT-719, 1982. Doctor Thesis.

Advanced Numerical and Experimental Methods in the Field of Vehicle Structural Acoustics. Hieronymus München, 2000, ISBN 3-89791-172-8, Habilitation Thesis.

Strukturdynamik – Ein anwendungsorientiertes Lehrbuch (Structural Dynamics – An Application Oriented Textbook). Springer Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-642-19697-3. Lecture course given at the Technical University of Munich.