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Karl-Eugen Kurrer

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Karl-Eugen Kurrer

Karl-Eugen Kurrer (born on 10 August 1952 in Heilbronn) is a German civil engineer and expert on the history of construction

Life and education

Kurrer attended the primary school wing of Damm School in Heilbronn from 1959 to 1963, thereafter the secondary wing of the same school. He was a pupil of Friedrich Löchner. It was he who coached Kurrer to his secondary school leaving certificate in 1968 and knew how to awaken his interest in German literature. After leaving school and completing a bricklaying apprenticeship with contractor Paul Ensle in Heilbronn, Kurrer studied civil engineering at Stuttgart Technology University of Applied Sciences from 1970 to 1974. During his studies he worked part-time for the Losberger company in Heilbronn (now Losberger De Boer in Bad Rappenau). After completing his studies he worked for Losberger full-time as a structural engineer in the Single-Storey Sheds Department[1].

In 1974 he was granted a place to study civil engineering and physical engineering sciences at the Technical University of Berlin. He was awarded a diploma for his thesis Entwicklung der Gewölbetheorie vom 19. Jahrhundert bis zum heutigen Stand der Wissenschaft am Beispiel der Berechnung einer Bogenbrücke (development of arch theory from the 19th century to today using the analysis of an arch bridge as an example) in 1981 and a doctorate for his dissertation on the kinematics and kinetics of vibratory grinding mills in 1986[2].

Working together with Eberhard Gock (1937–2016), Kurrer continued to pursue the topic of his dissertation[3]. That work finally led, at Clausthal University of Technology in 1993/94, to the eccentric vibratory mill, which in terms of energy is much more efficient than conventional vibratory grinding mills.[4]. This new type of mill resulted in Eberhard Gock, head of the research group, and the industrial partner being awarded the Technology Transfer Prize of the Braunschweig Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1998[5].

Kurrer worked as an antenna design engineer at Telefunken in Berlin from 1989 to 1995. That work included participating in the development of loadbearing structures for large antenna installations plus a rotating shortwave antenna[6]

In 1996 Kurrer was appointed head of the History of Technology Study Group in the Berlin-Brandenburg regional association of the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI). (Stefan Poser took over this post in late 2003.)[7].

From 1 January 1996 to 28 February 2018 Kurrer was editor-in-chief of the journal Stahlbau at publishers Ernst & Sohn. While in this position he was a key figure in the founding of a new English-language journal, Steel Construction, which in cooperation with the European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS) has appeared quarterly since 2009. At Ernst & Sohn, Kurrer was responsible for all structural steelwork publications.

Kurrer is a leading expert on the history of construction. Besides writing numerous essays[8][9][10][11][12] and contributing to several books[13][14][15], he has also compiled an extensive monograph[16] (540pp.), which also appeared in an enlarged English edition[17] (848pp.) for worldwide distribution. In the second, much enlarged, German (1164pp.) and English (June 2018, 1212pp.) editions, Kurrer manages to present the first complete portrayal of the evolution of the theory of structures[18][19], including the histories of earth pressure theory[20] and computational statics[21]. Together with Achim Hettler, Kurrer published a book on earth pressure in March 2019[22], the English edition of which appeared in November 2019[23]. In addition, he contributes to the Neue Deutsche Biographie and the Austrian Biographical Lexicon. Kurrer and Werner Lorenz are the joint editors of the books of the Construction History Series/Edition Bautechnikgeschichte, a series published by Ernst & Sohn.

Since 2002 he has been involved in the organisation of the International Congresses on Construction History. Kurrer – again working with Werner Lorenz, holder of the Chair of Construction History and Structural Preservation at Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg – has been organising the series of lectures on The Practices and Potential of Construction History at the German Museum of Technology in Berlin since 2007. Kurrer was a founding member of the Gesellschaft für Technikgeschichte (History of Technology Society) and also the Gesellschaft für Bautechnikgeschichte (Construction History Society). The homepage of the latter society includes a link to his essay on the duties of construction history.[24]. Kurrer has served as a visiting lecturer for the masters course in civil engineering at Coburg University of Applied Sciences since 2018, covering the history of technology in the winter semester.

Since 1980 he has also published numerous journal articles dealing with technology and the engineering and natural sciences in the context of society as a whole[25][26]. He regularly writes articles for momentum, an online magazine founded in autumn 2012, which cover topics from the histories of science, technology and construction[27][28][29].

Honours

  • Kurrer was awarded the Honorary Medal of VDI Berlin-Brandenburg on 1 June 2016[30].
  • Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg awarded him an honorary doctorate on 18 October 2017 for his outstanding scientific achievements in the field of construction history[31].

Works

  • Geschichte der Baustatik. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-433-01641-0.
  • The History of the theory of structures. From arch analysis to computational mechanics. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-433-01838-5.
  • Werner Lorenz (2012), "Karl-Eugen Kurrer 60 Jahre", Stahlbau (in German), vol. 81, no. 9, pp. 731–732, doi:10.1002/stab.201290127, ISSN 1437-1049
  • Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des deutschsprachigen Tabellenwerks im Bauingenieurwesen. In: Uta Hassler (Hrsg.): Der Lehrbuchdiskurs über das Bauen. Vdf Hochschulverlag, Zürich 2015, ISBN 978-3-7281-3686-2, S. 262–281.
  • Johann Wilhelm Schwedler. In: Jessica Hänsel, Jörg Haspel, Christiane Salge, Kerstin Wittmann-Englert (Hrsg.): Baumeister – Ingenieure – Gartenarchitekten (= Berlinische Lebensbilder. Band 11). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-428-14587-4, S. 439–456.
  • Geschichte der Baustatik. Auf der Suche nach dem Gleichgewicht, 2., stark erw. Auflage, Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-433-03134-6.[20]
  • Bautechnikgeschichte in Deutschland. In: Bautechnik 94 (2017), Heft 5, S. 274–294, ISSN 0932-8351 (zusammen mit Werner Lorenz).
  • The History of the Theory of Structures. Searching for Equilibrium. Construction History Series/Edition Bautechnikgeschichte, ed. by Karl-Eugen Kurrer and Werner Lorenz. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 2018 (mit Biografie, S. XXVIII–XXIX), ISBN 978-3-433-03229-9
  • Erddruck. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-433-03274-9 (zusammen mit Achim Hettler)
  • Kurt Beyers Beitrag zur Baustatik. In: Beton- und Stahlbetonbau 115 (2020), Heft 1, S. 62–80, ISSN 0005-9900.
  • Mit Bernhard Hauke: Die Kunst der Technik. Bauingenieure in Deutschland / The art of engineering. Civil and structural engineers in Germany. In: Ingenieurbaukunst – Engineering Made in Germany, hrsgn. v. d. Bundesingenieurkammer, S. 16–25. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 2020, ISBN 978-3-433-03326-5.

References

  1. ^ "Meine Zeit bei Losberger De Boer hat meine Karriere nachhaltig beeinflusst" (in German). Losberger GmbH.
  2. ^ Kurrer, K.-E. (1986). Zur inneren Kinematik und Kinetik von Rohrschwingmühlen (in German). Düsseldorf: VDI-Verlag. ISBN 3-18-142403-X.
  3. ^ Kurrer, K.-E.; Jeng, Jih-Jau; Gock, Eberhard (1992). Analyse von Rohrschwingmühlen (in German). Düsseldorf: VDI-Verlag. ISBN 3-18-148203-X.
  4. ^ Kurrer, K.-E.; Gock, Eberhard (1997). Exzenter-Schwingmühlen für die Feinstzerkleinerung – eine kinematische Analyse (in German). Zement-Kalk-Gips International. pp. 362–373. ISSN 0949-0205. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ "Technologietransferpreis der Industrie- und Handelskammer Braunschweig: „1998 – Prof. Dr. Eberhard Gock – Exzenter-Schwingmühle für Feinstmahlung von Roh- und Abfallstoffen" (in German). IHK Braunschweig.
  6. ^ Bruger, P.; Buchmann, B.; Kurrer, K.-E. (1996). Rotatable shortwave curtain antenna operable at very high wind speed. IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting. pp. 50–54. ISSN 0018-9316.
  7. ^ "Arbeitskreise im VDI-Bezirksverein Berlin-Brandenburg - AK Technikgeschichte" (in German). VDI Berlin-Brandenburg.
  8. ^ 200 Jahre ‘Einleitung in die statische Baukunst (in German). Bauingenieur. 1990. pp. 3–10. ISSN 0005-6650.
  9. ^ The Tasks & Aims of a History of Theory of Structures (PDF). iacm expressions. 2009. pp. 8–13.
  10. ^ Konrad Zuse und die Baustatik (in German). Bautechnik. 2010. pp. 763–783. ISSN 0932-8351.
  11. ^ Wissenschaft in praktischer Absicht. Die Tragwerkslehre als induktive bauwissenschaftliche Grundlagendisziplin (in German). Bautechnik. 2014. pp. 58–62. ISSN 0932-8351.
  12. ^ Georg Christoph Mehrtens (1843--1917) Protagonist des Stahlbrückenbaus im wilhelminischen Deutschland (in German). Stahlbau. 2017. pp. 527–547. ISSN 0038-9145.
  13. ^ Grundriss zu einer Historischen Technikwissenschaft [Ingenieure in der technokratischen Hochmoderne] (in German). Waxmann Verlag, Münster: Uwe Fraunholz, Sylvia Wölfel. 2012. pp. 45–63. ISBN 978-3-8309-2771-6.
  14. ^ Der Bauingenieur August Hermann Adalbert Hertwig (1872–1955) (in German). Mühlhäuser Beiträge. 2011. pp. 135–146. ISBN 978-3-935547-46-8.
  15. ^ Zwischen Erkennen und Verantworten. Ingenieurbaukunst und Gesellschaft [Dokumentation Deutscher Ingenieurbaupreis 2016 – Staatspreis] (in German). Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau- und Reaktorsicherheit und Bundesingenieurkammer. 2016. pp. 10–19. ISBN 978-3-941867-90-1.
  16. ^ Geschichte der Baustatik (in German). Ernst & Sohn, Berlin. 2002. ISBN 3-433-01641-0.
  17. ^ The History of the theory of structures. From arch analysis to computational mechanics. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin. 2008. ISBN 978-3-433-01838-5.
  18. ^ Geschichte der Baustatik. Auf der Suche nach dem Gleichgewicht (in German). Ernst & Sohn, Berlin. 2016. ISBN 978-3-433-03134-6.
  19. ^ The History of the theory of structures. Searching for Equilibrium. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin. 2018. ISBN 978-3-433-03229-9.
  20. ^ a b Der wirklich geniale Ingenieur ist poetischer Denker (in German). momentum Magazin. 2016.
  21. ^ "Die Verschränkung von Erkennen, Gestalten und Verantworten". Momentum Magazin (in German). 2016.
  22. ^ Hettler, A.; Kurrer, K.-E. (2019). Erddruck (in German). Ernst & Sohn, Berlin. ISBN 978-3-433-03274-9.
  23. ^ Hettler, A.; Kurrer, K.-E. (2020). Earth Pressure. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin. ISBN 978-3-433-03223-7.
  24. ^ "Aufgaben der Bautechnikgeschichte" (PDF) (in German). Wordpress. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)
  25. ^ "Die Melancholie des Ingenieurs" (in German). Der Freitag.
  26. ^ "Wenn Eisenbahnräder müde werden" (in German). Der Freitag.
  27. ^ "Eine Basisinnovation im Kranbau feiert ihren 100 Geburtstag" (in German). Momentum Magazin.
  28. ^ "'Die Anfänge der Festigkeitslehre bei Galilei" (in German). Momentum Magazin.
  29. ^ "Karl Bernhard – Ein vergessener Meister der Ingenieurbaukunst" (in German). Momentum Magazin.
  30. ^ "Ehrenplakette des VDI für Arbeitskreisleiter Kurrer" (PDF) (in German). VDI Berlin-Brandenburg. 2016.
  31. ^ "Verleihung der Ehrendoktorwürde an Dr.-Ing. Karl-Eugen Kurrer" (in German). 2017.
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