President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Résumé/Profile

Holger Hanselka is the 11^th president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a role that he assumed on August 15, 2023.

A mechanical engineer who was born in Oldenburg in 1961, Holger Hanselka was president of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) from 2013 to 2023, leading it back into the ranks of Germany’s Universities of Excellence. During this time, he was also vice president of the Research Field Energy at the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HGF) and played a decisive role in shaping the German research landscape.

From 2001 to 2013, he was the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt and, from 2006 to 2012, a member of the presidential council of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Holger Hanselka also served as vice president of the Technical University of Darmstadt from 2011 to 2013, where he was also in charge of the System Reliability and Machine Acoustics research group from 2001 to 2013. From 1997 to 2001, he held the chair of Adaptronics and was head of the Experimental Mechanics working group at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.

Holger Hanselka studied mechanical engineering at the Clausthal University of Technology. He then became a research scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), where he specialized in lightweight construction and fiber composites. In 1992, he completed his doctorate at the Clausthal University of Technology and continued working at the DLR, leading various research projects — including international ones — with a focus on lightweight construction and smart structures.

As a member of the German federal government’s Wissenschaftsplattform Klimaschutz (Climate Protection Science Platform) and Plattform Lernende Systeme (Learning Systems Platform) steering committees and as a participant of the federal chancellor’s Zukunftsrat (Future Council), Holger Hanselka plays an active role in various central innovation policy advisory boards on relevant issues in science and research policy.

Academic and professional career

• Since August 15, 2023 President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft e. V.
• 2013 – 2023 President of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
• 2013 – 2023 Vice president of the Research Field Energy at the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HGF)
  
• 2011 – 2013 Vice president of the Technical University of Darmstadt
• 2006 – 2012 Member of the presidential council of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and chair of the Fraunhofer Group for Materials and Components
• 2001 – 2013 Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, Darmstadt
• 2001 – 2013 Professor at the Technical University of Darmstadt, head of the System Reliability and Machine Acoustics research group
• 1997 – 2001 Professor at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, chair of Adaptronics/head of the Experimental Mechanics working group
• 1995 – 1997 Head of the Adaptronics department at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Braunschweig
• 1993 – 1995 Head of the Natural Fiber Reinforced Plastics in Automobile and Vehicle Construction working group at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Braunschweig
• 1992 Ph.D. from the Clausthal University of Technology
• 1988 – 1992 Research scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Braunschweig, specializing in lightweight construction/fiber composites
• 1981 – 1988 Mechanical engineering studies (Diplom-Ingenieur), Clausthal University of Technology
   

Positions held (selection)

• Since 2023   Alliance of Science Organizations in Germany, member
• Since 2023   Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG), permanent guest in the senate
• Since 2023   German Aerospace Center (DLR), member of the senate
• Since 2023   Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HGF), guest in the senate
• Since 2023   Board of trustees of the Deutsche Zukunftspreis (German Future Prize), member
• Since 2023   Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities), ex officio member of the board of trustees
• Since 2023   Board of trustees of the Fraunhofer Future Foundation, president
• Since 2023   Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, permanent member of the senate
• Since 2023   Weizenbaum Institute, member of the board of trustees
• Since 2023   Zukunftsrat (Future Council) of the German federal chancellor, participant
• 2019–2023   Wissenschaftsplattform Klimaschutz (Climate Protection Science Platform) of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), member of the steering committee
• 2019–2021  High-Tech Forum, the German federal government’s central advisory board for implementing the High-Tech Strategy 2025, member of the advisory board, spokesperson for “Agility in the innovation system”
• Since 2018   Plattform Lernende Systeme (Learning Systems Platform) of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), member of the steering committee
• 2018–2022   German Federation of Industrial Research Associations, vice president
• Since 2017   Clausthal University of Technology, member of the university council
• 2017–2019   Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER), member of the board of directors
• 2016–2023   Steinbeis Foundation for Economic Development, member of the board of trustees
• 2015–2020   Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, member of the board of trustees
• Since 2014   Deutsche Messe, member of the exhibitor advisory board and trade show advisory board
• Since 2014   Forum für Zukunftsenergien (Future Energy Forum), member of the board of trustees
• Since 2009   acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering, member