Herbert Kupfer (26 March 1927 – 30 December 2013) was a German

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. From 1986 to 1987, he was President of the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

Education

Kupfer attended the Luitpold-Oberrealschule in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

from 1937 to 1944, before being drafted into service in

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 ...

. After a period as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

, Kupfer returned to study

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

at the

between 1946 and 1949. He received his doctorate in engineering under Hubert Rüsch in 1955.

Career

After his studies, Kupfer worked at the construction company

Dyckerhoff & Widmann Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG (Dywidag) was a construction company based in Munich, Germany (formerly based in Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden and Berlin, Germany). History The company was founded under the name ''Lang & Co.'' in 1865 by the German cement pioneer ...

, where he was responsible for the calculation and design of major projects in

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

and bridge construction. In 1967, he took over the Chair of Timber Structures and Building Construction at the Department of Civil Engineering of the

, where he was appointed full professor in 1969. Between 1984 and 1988, he was Vice President of the Technical University of Munich, and in 1986/1987 President.

Awards

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

American Concrete Institute The American Concrete Institute (ACI, formerly National Association of Cement Users or NACU) is a non-profit technical society and standards developing organization. ACI was founded in January 1905 during a convention in Indianapolis. The Institu ...

(1987) *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupfer, Herbert 2013 deaths 1927 births Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Technical University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich Presidents of the Technical University of Munich Bridge engineers German civil engineers German prisoners of war in World War II