History of the ISD

The ISD was founded in January 2005 as an union of the Institute of Statics and the Curt Risch-Institute. Raimund Rolfes is the head of the institute. The following text, briefly outlines the history of the two predecessor institutes of the ISD.

Institute of Structural Dynamics (ISD)

Since 1908 a chair for statics and iron construction exists at the technical University of Hannover. In 1938 the institutes name changed to static and steel constructions. In 1945, Alf Pflüger representatively took over the static lectures at this chair. In 1951 the institute of static and steel constructions was divided and Alf Pflüger became the professor of structural engineering. In June 1956, the Institute of Statics was established, Alf Pflüger became the head of the institute and worked until his retirement in 1980. His successor was Heinrich Rothert. He headed the Institute of Statics until his retirement in 2004.

Alf Pflüger

  • Born on 17.07.1912 in Hannover,
  • Study of civil engineering in Hannover,
  • 1936 promotion Dr.-Ing. at TH Hannover,
  • 1941 habilitation in mechanics at TH Hannover,
  • 1951 professor for statics at TH Hannover,
  • 1964 Dr.-Ing. E.h. at Ruhr-Universität Bochum,
  • Retired in 30.09.1980,
  • Passed away 22.10.1989 in Hannover.
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Alf Pflüger

Heinrich Rothert

  • Born on 05.12.1938 in Preußisch Eylau,
  • Study of civil engineering in Hannover,
  • 1970 promotion Dr.-Ing. at Ruhr-Universität Bochum,
  • 1973 habilitation at Ruhr-Universität Bochum,
  • 1980 professor for statics at Universität Hannover,
  • 1994 Dr.-Ing. E.h. at TU Dresden,
  • Retired in 31.03.2004.
Photography of Heinrich Rothert Photography of Heinrich Rothert Photography of Heinrich Rothert
Heinrich Rothert

Curt-Risch-Institute

The Research Center for dynamic effects of road traffic was founded In April 1927 at the Technical University of Hannover. Curt Risch was appointed to be the head of the center. Since 1924 Curt Risch was professor of railway construction and railway operations at the Technical University of Hannover. The research center was renamed to the "Curt-Risch-Institute for Vibration and Measurement Techniques" in 1949 and affiliated with the Institute of Mechanics. In 1961, it was independently connected with the newly created institute of Vibration and Measurement. Head of the Institute was Hans Wolfgang Koch.

On 01.05.1976 Hans Günther Natke took over the professorship for vibration and measurement science, at the same time he became head of the Curt-Risch-Institute. In 1978 the institute was renamed to "Curt-Risch-Institute for Dynamics, Sound and Measurement".

After the retirement of Hans Günther Natke in 1999, Wolf-Jürgen Gerasch became the head the institute.

Curt Risch

  • Born on 29.03.1879 in Berlin,
  • Study of civil engineering in Berlin,
  • 1916 promotion Dr.-Ing. at TU Braunschweig,
  • 1919 professor for railway engineering at TU Braunschweig,
  • 1924 professor for railway construction and railway operations at TH Hannover,
  • 1927 head of the research center for dynamic effects of road traffic,
  • Passed away in 17.10.1959 in Hannover.
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Curt Risch

Hans Wolfgang Koch

  • Born on 23.02.1907 in Hannover,
  • Study of physics in Hannover and Hamburg,
  • 1932 promotion Dr.-Ing. at TH Hannover,
  • 1938 habilitation at TH Hannover,
  • 1949 engineer at Curt-Risch-Institute,
  • 1961 professor for Vibration and Measurement at TH Hannover,
  • 1975 retired,
  • Passed away on 18.08.1984 in Hannover.
Photography of Hans Wolfgang Koch Photography of Hans Wolfgang Koch Photography of Hans Wolfgang Koch
Hans Wolfgang Koch

Hans Günther Natke

  • Born on 09.05.1933 in Elbing,
  • Study of mathematics in Hannover,
  • 1959 engineer at VFW Fokker in Bremen,
  • 1968 promotion Dr.rer.nat. at TU München,1971 habilitation at TU Berlin,
  • 1976 professor for Vibration and Measurement at Universität Hannover,
  • 1994 Dr. h.c. at TU Poznan,
  • 1996 Dr. h.c. at TU Iasi (Rumänien),
  • 1999 retired,
  • Passed away on 28.08.2002 in Hannover.
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Hans Günther Natke

Wolf-Jürgen Gerasch

  • Born on 20.09.1942 in Königsberg,
  • Study of civil engineering in Berlin and Hannover,
  • 1970 engineer at Philipp Holzmann AG,
  • 1974 research assistant at Curt-Risch-Institute,
  • 1999-2004 head of Curt-Risch-Institute.
Photography of Wolf-Jürgen Gerasch zeigt Photography of Wolf-Jürgen Gerasch zeigt Photography of Wolf-Jürgen Gerasch zeigt
Wolf-Jürgen Gerasch