Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) (English: Association of German Engineers) is an organization of over 150,000

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the ...

and natural scientists. More than 12,000 honorary experts process the latest technical findings each year to promote the technology location. Established in 1856, it is the largest engineering association in Western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Its role in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

is comparable to that of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(ASCE) in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

(EA) in Australia, but includes broader field work. It is not a union, but promotes the advancement of technology and represents the interests of engineers and engineering businesses in Germany.

History

The organization was founded on May 12, 1856 by fellow researchers from the Academic Fraternity Hütte, in the small town of

Alexisbad Alexisbad is a small spa town, part of Harzgerode in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Alexisbad is located about northwest of the Harzgerode town centre on the Bundesstrasse 185 road to Ballenstedt. It is situated in ...

, with the first journal officially being released to the public in 1857. In 1866 the VDI helped establish the predecessor of

Technischer Überwachungsverein TÜVs (; short for german: Technischer Überwachungsverein, en, Technical Inspection Association) are internationally active, independent service companies from Germany and Austria that test, inspect and certify technical systems, facilities an ...

, the Dampfkesselüberwachungsvereinen (English: Steam boiler inspection association). At the time, engineering was not regarded to be of the same ranking as scientific disciplines, which the VDI changed in 1899, with the re-categorisation of the

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 (, ). ...

as a type of

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. In 1923 the VDI Verlag was founded, publishing monthly newspapers which are distributed to members. After the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

the VDI moved its headquarters from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

to Düsseldorf, where it remains now today. It also helped establish the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kerntechnik (English: Society for Nuclear Technology) in 1956, which resulted in the German Atomforum, in 1959. In recent times, the VDI worked in conjunction with EXPO 2000 Hannover GmbH to establish the first worldwide engineering day.

Structure

Throughout its history, the VDI has been served by many presidents, including: *

Carl von Linde Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde (11 June 1842 – 16 November 1934) was a German scientist, engineer, and businessman. He discovered a refrigeration cycle and invented the first industrial-scale air separation and gas liquefaction processes, whi ...

(1904–1905) *

Oskar von Miller Oskar von Miller (7 May 1855 – 9 April 1934) was a German engineer and founder of the Deutsches Museum, a large museum of technology and science in Munich. Biography Born in Munich into an Upper Bavarian family from Aichach, he was the son of ...

(1912–1914) *

Fritz Todt Fritz Todt (; 4 September 1891 – 8 February 1942) was a German construction engineer and senior Nazi who rose from the position of Inspector General for German Roadways, in which he directed the construction of the German autobahns (''Reichsa ...

(1939–1942) * Hans Bluhm (1947–1952) *

Hans Schuberth Hans Schuberth (April 5, 1897 in Schwabach – September 2, 1976 in Munich) was a German politician who from 1949 to 1953 was the first Federal Minister for Post and Telecommunications in Konrad Adenauer's first cabinet. Biography After grad ...

(1953–1956) * Gerhard Wilhelm Becker (1978–1982) * Karl Eugen Becker (1983–1988)''Absatzwirtschaft:'
Meldung
vom 1. Dezember 1988 *

Joachim Pöppel Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

(1989–1991) *

Klaus Czeguhn Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus * Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American baseba ...

(1992–1994)''Absatzwirtschaft:'
Meldung
vom 1. Juni 1994 *

Hans-Jürgen Warnecke Hans-Jürgen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hans-Jürgen Abt of Abt Sportsline, a motor racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany * Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962), German colonel-general (Ge ...

(1995–1997) *

Hubertus Christ Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he was ...

(1998–2003) *

Eike Lehmann Eike is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Eike Batista (born 1956), entrepreneur * Eike Bram (born 1965), handball player * Eike Duarte (born 1997), actor * Eike Duckwitz (born 1980), field hockey playe ...

(2004–2007) * Bruno O. Braun (2007-2012) *

Udo Ungeheuer Udo is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People Medieval era *Udo of Neustria, 9th century nobleman *Udo (Obotrite prince) (died 1028) *Udo (archbishop of Trier) (c. 1030 – 1078) * Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark (c. 1025 – ...

(2013–2018) *

Volker Kefer Volker may refer to: * Volker (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Volker, Kansas City, a historic neighborhood in Kansas City * Volker Boulevard, Kansas City * ''Alien Nations'' (German: ''Die Völker''), a real-t ...

(since 2019)

Notable Members

Blake R. Van Leer Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (August 16, 1893 – January 23, 1956) was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956. Early life and education Van Leer was ...

, United States Army officer and president of Georgia Institute of TechnologyBlake Van Leer Named Dean Of Engineering
/ref> *

Membership

In 2013 the VDI had over 150,000 registered members worldwide, which also included

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 ...

and

I.T professionals I.T is a Hong Kong fashion and investment conglomerate founded in November 1988. It owns a number of Hong Kong brands which it retails as well as distributing European and Japanese brands such as French Connection and A Bathing Ape. It has a ...

. Members have opportunities to ask for help regarding job prospects and opportunities, receive news about the engineering profession, especially in Germany, as well as other services such as specialized insurance. Members are also able to attach the suffix ''VDI'' upon becoming a member, and is classified as a legitimate name suffix.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Engineering societies based in Germany