100th birthday of Prof. Wolfgang Zerna

On the 11th of October 2016, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr.-Ing. E.h. mult. Wolfgang Zerna would have celebrated his 100th birthday.

The former tenured professor and originator of the construction engineering at the Ruhr-University Bochum was born in Berlin. His work as a scientist and engineer particularly focused on the steel concrete and prestressed concrete engineering, both in theory and practice, albeit he regarded mechanics as his real love.

He developed prestressing methods, was involved with exceptional construction projects and originated the nuclear engineering. He was one of the first to recognise the potential of "electronic calculation", while initiating the "computational civil engineering".

Based on his practical work as a consulting engineer, as a structural design verification engineer for structural engineering and as a scientific expert, several engineering companies have developed in Bochum, such as the ZPP Ingenieure GmbH.

Since 2014, the Wolfgang-Zerna-medal of honour is being awarded annually by the "VDI Gesellschaft Bauen und Gebäudetechnik". This medal is bestowed upon personalities that have distinguished themselves through their services in the field of civil engineering.

Download VITA / obituary Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Zerna
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Wolfgang-Zerna-medal of honour