When one meets Professor Andreas Herkersdorf for the first time, it is impossible not to take note of how tall he is. Born and raised in the Bavarian Alps, Professor Herkersdorf played tennis and basketball growing up. Quizzed if basketball was the secret behind his height, he said he couldn’t be sure. Despite his uncertainty with the common Asian myth that playing basketball leads to a tall stature, there is one thing he is most certain about: his passion for his area of research.
When asked if he has always been in the field of electrical engineering, he proudly answers “yes”.
I studied Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and left to complete an industrial PhD in ETH Zurich with the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory,” recalls Professor Herkersdorf. The TUM then fell off his personal career map for over fifteen years as Professor Herkersdorf focused on pursuing his career with IBM Zurich Research in various fields such as research and management in chip architecture. “TUM called me in 2003 and offered me the opportunity to return to the university as professor in the Chair of Integrated Systems. “
It is commonly inferred that the best financial rewards are in a person’s long and successful career in the industry. To choose to return to university, the reward that one seeks is not always found in cents and dollars.
It was the deliberate freedom to continue working on technical problems that fascinate me most.
And which areas are these? “My main research interest is in application-specific System on Chip (SoC) and processor architecture, and at the same time our group works to broaden the target application areas towards automotive embedded systems, Software Defined Networking (SDN), streaming data analytics, industrial automation, dependable and self-adaptive, autonomous systems.”
I desire to tackle challenges that we are yet aware of
Professorship is not an easy job to have. Besides juggling academic administration and research work, one is ultimately devoted to the development of their students. What gives Professor Klein joy?
I am most proud knowing that my students are able to apply the fundamentals we teach in actual problem-solution strategies.
The aim, he says, is to not only equip students with theoretical knowledge, but equally as important is the ability to apply the knowledge. With this conviction, Professor Klein ensures that all Chemical Engineering students have the opportunity to complete real-time experiments on industrial-sized equipment in the laboratories. This conviction has extended itself beyond his classes in Munich, Germany and has reached the shores of a tiny Asian country, Singapore.
Prof. Dr. Harald Klein Plant & Process Engineering
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer Chair for Communications Engineering
Prof. Dr. Andreas Herkersdorf Chair for Integrated Systems
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