As the first woman in Europe, Prof. Dr. Corinna Salander has been appointed to the newly established endowed chair for rail vehicle technology at the University of Stuttgart at a university chair in the rail sector. The chair is based at the Institute for Machine Elements and is funded by the sponsors Knorr Bremse and Voith Turbo GmbH for ten years with a total of 210,000 Euros annually.
“As a result of her professional experience with operators and manufacturers of rail vehicles as well as in the railway authorities of the European Union, Corinna Salander has a very special knowledge profile. In interaction with the institutes in the construction, material and manufacturing technology at the University of Stuttgart we are expecting important inspiration for research and development in rail vehicle technology“, explained the deacon of the Faculty for Construction, Production and Automotive Engineering (mechanical engineering), Prof. Rainer Gadow.
“The professorship gives me the possibility to expand the current teaching and research field of rail vehicle technology at the University of Stuttgart to a ‘real‘ chair with its own profile and at the same time to intensify my research interests. I am really enjoying this freedom“ , Prof. Corinna Salander was pleased to say.
A focal point of the research work by the 47-year old scientist concerns wear and tear and reliability of drive and suspension components in interaction with the infrastructure.
Faults in the wheel-rail system could lead to high maintenance costs or accidents and have an
impact on the entire operational process.
A second work field concerns risk analyses, whereby effects of technical or operational
innovations are estimated on the basis of theoretical observations, statistical operational data
and simulations. Furthermore, Prof. Salander deals with the application of the European legislation
concerning the railway sector from the manufacturing of vehicles up till their licensing.
Corinna Salander, born in 1967, studied physics in Kiel and did her doctorate at the Technical University of Clausthal with a thesis on algorithms to calculate electromagnetic fields in rail vehicles. This was followed by 15 years in practice in responsible positions at the Deutsche Bahn AG, the European Railway Agency ERA and the train manufacturer Bombardier, where Ms Salander dealt with questions of safety management and the licensing of rail vehicles, among other things.
Further information:
Prof. Dr. Corinna Salander, University of StuttgartInstitute for Machine Elements, Chair Rail Vehicle Technology, Tel. 0711/685-66663, Email: corinna.salander (at) ima.uni-stuttgart.de
Dr. Hans-Herwig Geyer, University of Stuttgart, Head of University Communication and Press
Spokesperson,
Tel. 0711/685-82555, Email: hans-herwig.geyer (at) hkom.uni-stuttgart.de
