It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wengenroth, who passed away on January 7, 2025 at the age of 75. His death leaves a painful void - for his colleagues, for the many students and researchers he inspired over the decades, and for the academic community.
After working in Darmstadt, Florence and Mainz, he was appointed to the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in 1989, where he established the Central Institute for the History of Technology became an anchor and catalyst for social and cultural science technology research at TUM. Prof. Wengenroth’s was deeply committed to imbuing future engineers with a reflexive view of technical knowledge and practice during their studies. In many degree programs across all TUM locations, he and his team offered courses that were in high demand. He developed e-learning formats with great passion - long before universities discovered moodle as a platform. His lectures and discussions were characterized by intellectual acuity, warm-hearted humor and an appreciation for other perspectives.
Ulrich Wengenroth was one of the founding fathers of the Munich Center for the History of Science and Technology (MZWTG), which was inaugurated in 1997. Together with colleagues at the Deutsches Museum, LMU and TUM, he developed new research approaches for in-depth analyses of the epistemic, cultural and social dimensions of technological developments. Ulrich Wengenroth was an inspiring source of ideas and at the same time a prolific manager in large research networks. Ulrich Wengenroth pursued innovative research topics in large-scale projects investigating the interrelationships between natural science and technology, the study of innovation cultures or in the LMU's SFB on reflexive modernization and played a key role in shaping the next generation of historians of technology. A brilliant scholar, exceptional teacher, and caring mentor, he had the ability to transfer his passion for the history of technology to others and encourage them to think critically and creatively. Early on, Ulrich Wengenroth collaborated with colleagues from the former GDR and actively worked to ensure that the history of technical sciences could be continued in Dresden with the scientists trained there.
His influence extended far beyond the German sphere. Ulrich Wengenroth was very active in SHOT (the Society for the History of Technology), the largest international society of historians of technology, as well as in the European research network Tensions of Europe. He created internationally visible spaces in which academic exchange could flourish and encouraged all those who worked with him to break new ground. He was held in high esteem as a member of the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters - Humanistic Class and the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech).
The Technical University of Munich, the School of Social Sciences and Technology, the Department of Science, Technology and Society and the scientific community mourn the loss of this formative colleague. We will miss his leadership, humor, and openness.
Our deepest sympathy goes to his family, his friends and all those who knew and appreciated him.
Prof. Dr. em. Karin Zachmann
Professor of the History of Technology, TU Munich (2003-2022)
The (former) staff of the Chair and Professorship of the History of Technology and the colleagues of the Department of Science, Technology and Society at the TU Munich