Freiberg University Of Mining And Technology
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The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (abbreviation: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, TUBAF) is a public
university of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
with currently 3655 students in the city of
Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...
,
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, Germany. Its focus is on
exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
,
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
& extraction, processing, and
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
of natural resources &
scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
, as well as developing new materials. Today, it's the oldest university of mining and
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
in the world.


History


Before 1945

The institution was established in 1765, during the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, by Prince Francis Xavier of Saxony based on plans by Friedrich Wilhelm von Oppel and
Friedrich Anton von Heynitz Friedrich Anton von Heynitz (14 May 1725 – 15 May 1802) was an aristocrat and cameralist in Saxony who founded the oldest mining school in the world, the Bergakademie Freiberg. He studied mining and was involved in reforming the mining and metal ...
, then called ''Kurfürstlich-Sächsische Bergakademie zu Freiberg'' (by 1806: ''Königlich-Sächsische Bergakademie zu Freiberg''). Its main purpose was the education of highly skilled miners and
scientists A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...
in fields connected to mining and metallurgy. There had developed a need for mining as an industry to regenerate Saxony's economy, since Saxony had been defeated in the Seven Year's War. Before the establishment of the ''Bergakademie (mining school)", four similar institutions had been founded in other countries:
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...
,
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
(1557-1786); Kongsberg, Norway (1757-1814); Schemnitz, today's
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
(''
Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; german: Schemnitz; hu, Selmecbánya (Selmec), ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountain ...
'', 1762–1919); and
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
(1762-1772). Since these do not exist anymore, Freiberg University is the oldest still operational University of Mining and Technology. After the
École des Ponts et Chaussées École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
, which was established in 1747, it is also the second oldest institution of higher learning with focus on STEM-research (
university of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
). The chemical elements
indium Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts p ...
(1863) and
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors s ...
(1886) were discovered by scientists of Freiberg University. The
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
studied mining at the Bergakademie from 1791 to 1792, as did the poet
Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...
from 1797 to 1799. In 1899, it was incorporated as a
Technische Hochschule A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ). ...
. In 1905, Bergakademie gained the right to grant
doctorates A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in engineering (Dr.-Ing.), and in 1939 for natural sciences (Dr. rer. nat.). In 1940, two novel faculties (divisions) where established: Natural Sciences and Mining & Metallurgy. In 1956, another faculty concerning
economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
was added.


1945 to 1990

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, education of future engineers and scientists, as well as research were quickliy re-established in order to (re-) build primary industry in the
Soviet Occupation Zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...
/ GDR. The campus and faculty-staff were expanded rapidly. The educational direction changed through establishing novel courses. Also, the student demographics changed (percentage of women increased), since the access to college was directed by central authorities. Additionally, children of "workers & farmers", who traditionally didn't pursued
tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...
, were supported by having a college preparation institute (''Arbeiter-und-Bauern-Fakultät'' (ABF) „Wilhelm Pieck“).


Since 1990

In the aftermath of
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, the infrastructure and academic body were reorganized in order to fit the new political circumstances. After its incorporation into the
West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
system of higher education, Bergakademie quickly found a prime position as "The University of Resources". As the first
East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
University, it joined the
German Research Foundation The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
. In connection, the social sciences section were eliminated, while a faculty for economics was restructured and expanded to 15 professorships. One of the emerging focus points in research was
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
s, which led to corporations settling in and around Freiberg. These include Siltronic AG, Meyer Burger Technology AG, and JT Energy Systems, specializing in semiconductors,
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
, and
lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
, respectively. Besides geo- and materials sciences,
environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...
became a university strong point. In March 1993, then ''Technische Hochschule Bergakademie Freiberg'' was renamed ''Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg'', underlining its increased status and significance. Today, TUBAF is a modern & environmentally focused university, internationally recognized as a "university of closed resource cycles". The university's history is presented in the ''Historicum'' through numerous exhibits, paintings and photographs, and documents. The Forum for Mining History (''Forum Montangeschichte'') is responsible for
digitizing DigitizationTech Target. (2011, April). Definition: digitization. ''WhatIs.com''. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer- ...
and publishing historic essays and publications concerning Saxony's historical mining and metallurgical industry.


Historical figures and scientific achievements

A number of known figures studied and/or lectured at the Bergakademie:
Abraham Gottlob Werner Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist who set out an early theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and propounded a history of the Earth that came to be known as Neptunism. While most tenet ...
(1749–1817) was a highly influential lecturer and scientist, who systematized minerals and rock formations. He is considered the founder of an early form of geology as a science, called 'geognosis'. Thus, he laid the foundation for
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
and resource deposit theory. During his tenure, he attracted a wide range of students and peers, among them
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
,
Franz Xaver von Baader Franz von Baader (27 March 1765 – 23 May 1841), born Benedikt Franz Xaver Baader, was a German Catholic philosopher, theologian, physician, and mining engineer. Resisting the empiricism of his day, he denounced most Western philosophy s ...
,
Leopold von Buch Christian Leopold von Buch (26 April 1774 – 4 March 1853), usually cited as Leopold von Buch, was a German geologist and paleontologist born in Stolpe an der Oder (now a part of Angermünde, Brandenburg) and is remembered as one of the most im ...
,
Friedrich Mohs Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs (; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal syst ...
, and
Robert Jameson Robert Jameson Robert Jameson FRS FRSE (11 July 1774 – 19 April 1854) was a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist. As Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh for fifty years, developing his predecessor John ...
.
Wilhelm August Lampadius Wilhelm August Lampadius was born in Hehlen, Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, on 8 August 1772 and died on 13 April 1842 in Freiberg, Kingdom of Saxony. He was a German pharmacist in Göttingen from 1785 until 1791. Also he was an "extraordinary profess ...
(1772–1842) was a professor of chemistry and metallurgy. He installed the first gas light on the European continent and advanced the technology to an industrial scale. Also, Lampadius founded the world's first chemical research laboratory in a university in 1796/97. The poet
Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...
(1772–1801; Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg) studied in Freiberg from 1797 through 1799. He also created his
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
for his literary works during this time. Many topics and themes of his work came from the mining culture surrounding him. The
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
enrolled on 14 June 1791 and went through a rather short, but intense program, qualifying him in natural sciences and metallurgy. He took a special interest in developing appliances, such as the "Licht-Erhalter". One of Humboldt's most famous discoveries was the vegetation underground, published in 1793 as "Flora Fribergensis". Many of the plants described were discovered and characterized by him. In 1863, the chemical element
indium Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts p ...
was discovered by chemist Hieronymus Theodor Richter (1824–1898) and physicist
Ferdinand Reich Ferdinand Reich (19 February 1799 – 27 April 1882) was a German chemist who co-discovered indium in 1863 with Hieronymous Theodor Richter. Reich was born in Bernburg and died in Freiberg. He was color blind, or could only see in whites a ...
(1799–1882), naming it after its indigo-blue colored flame. In 1886, chemistry professor Clemens Alexander Winkler (1838–1904) isolated the element
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors s ...
for the first time while analyzing the rather uncommon mineral
argyrodite Argyrodite is an uncommon silver germanium sulfide mineral with formula Ag8GeS6. The color is iron-black with a purplish tinge, and the luster metallic. Discovered by Clemens Winkler in 1886, it is of interest as it was described shortly after t ...
. This proved
Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...
's periodic table and his prediction of a so-called ''ekasilicon.'' In the field of
process engineering Process engineering is the understanding and application of the fundamental principles and laws of nature that allow humans to transform raw material and energy into products that are useful to society, at an industrial level. By taking advantage ...
, Erich Rammler and Georg Bilkenroth were awarded the
National Prize of the German Democratic Republic The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (german: Nationalpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was an award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, ...
(1st class) for their work on
lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
coke & coal gasification in 1951.


Profile

The university has defined core fields that create a unique profile in education and research:


Geo

Exploring, researching, and (resourceful) use of the system Earth is the focal point of TUBAF's geosciences. The work is based on innovative and novel technologies, e.g. for finding resources, extracting them without unnecessary destruction, and resourceful processing.


Materials

Innovative materials for today's problems and uses are being developed. This includes the making, as well as recycling of these materials.


Energy

In this field, scientists develop new, green solutions to energy problems. Production, use, and storage of energy are researched in conjunction. Additionally, digitisation of the energy sector is another topic.


Environment

Environmental sciences focus on safety and conservation aspects, e.g. of drinking water, as well as on processes in the primary and energy industry.


Technology

Engineers work on future-oriented solutions, novel products, and optimization of already existing processes & methods. Their studies include applied research as well as foundational questions.


Economics

Economic topics arise from all of the fields mentioned above. Therefore, researchers in this field work on projects in pure economic disciplines and interdisciplinary projects alike.


Programs

The university offers programs taught in German, as well as international programs entirely taught in English. All in all, there are 75 programs. Among those are unique ones, such as Applied Natural Sciences, Industrial Archeology, Mine-Surveying, and Chemistry (Diplom), which are taught in German. Admission to all programs from Bachelor through Ph.D. is performance-based and without tuition fees (as usual for consecutive studies at German public universities); students pay a registration fee of 94€ per semester, of which 7€ is dedicated solely to the Student Body (Council). 13 masters programs (date: WS 2022/23) are taught in English: * Advanced Materials Analysis (AMA) * Advanced Mineral Resource Development (AMRD) * Computational Materials Science (CMS) * EMerald master in Resources Engineering (EMerald) * Geomatics for Mineral Resource Management * Geoscience * Groundwater Management * International Business and Resources in Emerging Markets (IBRE) * Mathematics for Data and Resource Sciences * Mechanical and Process Engineering (MPE) * Metallic Materials Technology (MMT) * Sustainable Mining and Remediation Management (MoRe) * Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management (SINReM) * Technology and Application of Inorganic Engineering Materials (TAIEM) Freiberg University of Mining and Technology has been ranked among the best universities worldwide for
mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
. Though a public university, it has a relatively large private endowment. The university is home to one of the largest German university foundations.


Student body

Freiberg is a highly international university. Among its 4,061 students in 2018, 24% were foreign students. There are double degree agreements with universities in China, France, Ghana, Italy, Poland, Russia, Thailand, and others. About 30% of the doctoral degrees awarded by the university are given to foreign students.


Notable alumni

*
Luo Gan Luo Gan (; born July 18, 1935) is a retired Chinese politician. Between 2002 and 2007, Luo was one of China's top leaders, serving as a member of the nine-man Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and as the Secretary of ...
, former Member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. * Mary Hegeler Carus – the first woman to legally enroll (in 1885). * Edward Renouf, chemistry professor, Johns Hopkins University. *
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
, renowned naturalist, historian, and humanitarian


International University Rankings

The 2021 QS World University Rankings by subject rated TU Bergakademie Freiberg No. 17 for Mineral and Mining worldwide and No. 3 in Europe. The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) ranked TU Freiberg 64th among German universities on research performance.


References


External links


Website of the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology
Schools of mines Educational institutions established in 1765 1765 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Freiberg Mining in the Ore Mountains Universities and colleges in Saxony {{Saxony-struct-stub