3 May 2022


The Faculty of Engineering at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences welcomes Prof Dr Michael Rutz (again) to its ranks.

Appointment of Prof Dr Michael Rutz by University President Prof Dr Jörg Wagner.

Appointment of Prof Dr Michael Rutz by University President Prof Dr Jörg Wagner. (Photo: Christiane Oeftiger)

Michael Rutz, who was born in North Thuringia and has now been appointed professor by university president Prof Dr Jörg Wagner, once studied at Nordhausen University himself.

He was one of the first to study here from 2000 to 2004 on the Materials and Land Recycling degree programme, specialising in materials recycling and process engineering.

The topic of recycling has been a recurring theme throughout his professional career, even after graduating. After completing his studies, Michael Rutz worked for 5 years as a project manager in the field of processing primary and secondary raw materials and developing recycling processes at UVR-FIA GmbH in Freiberg.

In 2009, he moved to Erfurt to join PV Silicon Forschungs- und Produktions GmbH, where he worked as a production engineer. His focus here was on photovoltaics and he was particularly involved in the process of cutting silicon blocks into wafer-thin discs for later use in solar modules.

In 2011, he returned to Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, where Michael Rutz worked as a research assistant until 2016. At the same time, he began his doctorate on the subject of air pollution control and dedusting. This was a cooperative doctorate with Clausthal University of Technology. In 2018, he defended his dissertation entitled "Conceptual and experimental investigations into increasing the efficiency of surface filters".

In 2017, Michael Rutz joined automotive supplier Wiegand GmbH in Schlotheim, where he worked intensively on energy, environmental and other sustainability issues.

In May 2021, Michael Rutz applied for the then advertised professorship for recycling technology at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and was accepted.

Michael Rutz has been a professor on the English-language Master's degree programme in Environmental and Recycling Technology since April. At just in his early 40s, he is one of the youngest professors at the university and also the first in the department to have studied here himself.

"I am very happy to be returning to my university. So much has happened here in recent years. The idea of having more space for research has given rise to the vision of a research campus, which is increasingly becoming a reality - for example through the Thuringian Innovation Centre for Recyclable Materials. I am very excited about everything that is yet to come at the university and am proud to be able to accompany this development for the next 25 years," emphasises Prof. Dr.-Ing Michael Rutz.

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