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This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy...
This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.
Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and international members, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.
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BY BIRGIT SPAETH SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY
“The desire to achieve” was his life principle. HANS-JÜRGEN WARNECKE, a researcher, strategist, reformer, and visionary who shaped engineering innovation over the past 40 years, died March 20, 2019, after a long illness. The former president of the Fraunhofer Society, former chair of the Institute for Industrial Manufacturing and Factory Management at the University of Stuttgart, and director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) was 84.
Born in Germany, Warnecke studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig, specializing in machine tools and production technology. He later worked in a leadership role at Rollei-Werke, Franke & Heidecke in Braunschweig. In 1970, he joined the University of Stuttgart as a full professor of industrial manufacturing and factory management. In 1971, he also became head of the Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart, where he transformed the institute into one of the largest and most successful Fraunhofer institutes. In 1981, under his leadership, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organization was founded from the IPA’s central department of work and organization, led by Hans-Jörg Bullinger.
One of Warnecke’s key research areas was automation through industrial robots. In 1992, he compiled his insights on company management and factory organization in his book The Fractal Factory,1 which gained international recognition in both academia and industry.
“We all owe a great deal of gratitude to Hans-Jürgen Warnecke. His exemplary work, interpersonal warmth, and motivating drive for new paths are a role model, incentive, and obligation for us simultaneously,” said Fraunhofer President Reimund Neugebauer. “The concept of the Fractal Factory, which Warnecke presented in the early 1990s, is still highly topical and meaningful for many manufacturing companies. The visionary power of this organizational model is still evident today in many change processes on the way to agile and flexible production structures.”
During his tenure as president of the Fraunhofer Society from 1993 to 2002, Warnecke oversaw the doubling of the research organization’s total budget to one billion euros. He emphasized stronger collaboration with industry, increasing the share of commercial revenue from 28 percent to 40 percent. He also strengthened the organization’s brand and image by introducing a unified corporate and innovative design, boosting the global recognition of more than 60 Fraunhofer institutes. By structuring the institutes into subject-oriented groups and demand-driven alliances, he expanded opportunities for synergy and strategic collaboration.
Beyond his roles as a university lecturer and researcher, Warnecke was committed to advancing engineering sciences and integrating them into society, business, research associations, and professional associations. From 1994 to 1997, he served as president of the Association of German Engineers (VDI). He was also a longtime member of the executive board of the German Institute for Standardization, where he worked to connect research and standardization.
Warnecke served on many executive boards, supervisory boards, advisory boards, foundations, and presidiums. As a scientific director and co-editor of technical journals, he shared his expertise through numerous publications and books.
His contributions were widely recognized with awards, honors, and distinctions both in Germany and abroad. These include several honorary doctorates and professorships, the VDI Ring of Honor (1977) and VDI Badge of Honor (1990), the Lower Saxony Order of Merit (1997), the Medal of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg (1998), the Bavarian Order of Merit (2004), the Ring of Honor of the Eduard Rhein Foundation (2002), the Grashof Memorial Medal of the VDI (2000), and the Grand Federal Cross of Merit.
“Warnecke was a teacher, researcher, manager, and mentor. Hardly anyone has mastered the connection between science and teaching and with business as much as he did. Now, this worthy life has come to an end. His work lives on through his students and employees, many of whom now hold positions of responsibility in industry and science,” said Thomas Bauernhansl, director of Fraunhofer IPA. “We will always remember Hans-Jürgen Warnecke with honor.”
________________________ 1Warnecke H-J. 1993. The fractal factory – An integrating approach. In: The Fractal Company – A Revolution in Corporate Culture, 137-217. Springer Berlin.